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"Hear  t/e  children  thf  instruction  of  a  father  a  ad  attend  to 
their  urfdersttindirtgl  Proverbs.  VI 


SHORT   SERMONS 

TO 

LITTLE   CHILDEEN. 
BY  W.  S.  PLUMER 

4 


WRITTEN    FOR  THE   AMERICAN   SUNDAY -SCHOOL   UNION,   AND 
REVISED    BY   THE    COMMITTEE    OF   PUBLICATION. 


pf)ilabelpl)ia 

AMERICAN   SUNDAY-SCHOOL   UNION, 

No.  146  CHESTNUT   8TREET. 


Entered  according  to  act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1848,  by  the 

AMERICAN  SUNDAY-SCHOOL  UNION, 

in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  Eastern  District  of 
Pennsylvania. 


£  Scxo  tDorbs  to  all  £ittk  33cms  anb  ©iris. 


My  young  Friends:  I  was  once  as 

small  as  you  are.    I  had  fears,  and  hopes, 

and  sins,  and  sorrows,  just  as  you  have. 

I  do  not  forget  how  I  then  felt.     I  love 

children  still.     I  never  saw  most  of  you 

who  will  read  this  book.    But  I  hope  you 

will  read  it.     It  is  not  long,  and  it  is  not 

hard.     I  use  short  and  plain  texts  and 

easy  words.    If  you  will  heed  what  I  tell 

you,  it  will  do  you  good  all  your  life.     I 

do  not  know  that  I  shall  live  long,  and  I 

send  you  these  Sermons  now,  for  fear,  if 

I  put  it  off,  I  may  be  sick  or  die.     I  wish 
1*  5 


6 

you  to  know  what  I  think  about  you,  and 
about  God,  and  about  Christ.  I  shall  be 
dead  and  gone  before  some  of  you  will 
read  this  book;  but  I  shall  meet  you  all 
by  and  by.  We  shall  see  each  other  at 
the  last  great  day.  I  pray  that  you  and 
I  may  be  ready,  when  the  Lord  shall 
come.  May  God  bless  you  every  one. 
Farewell! 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

Sermon  I.  There  is  a  God     ....         9 

EL  God  is  great 15 

EI.  The  Good  Shepherd 23 

IT.  The  Fear  of  God 30 

V.  Seeking  the  Lord 38 

VI.  The  Study  of  the  Bible 46 

VIL  The  Worth  of  the  Soul 54 

VHX  We  all  belong  to  God 61 

IX.  We  are  all  Sinners 69 

X.  Why  Christ  died 77 

XL  On  Prayer 85 

XIL  On  Pleasing  God 93 

XKL  On  Honesty 101 

XIV.  Now  is  the  Time 109 

XV.  The  Last  Judgment 116 


SERMON  I. 

erijere  is  a  ©ob. 

He  that  cometh  to  God  must  believe  thai  he  is. 
Heb.  xi.  6. 

I  believe  there  is  a  God,  but  I  do 
not  believe  so  because  I  ever  saw  him. 
"  No  man  hath  seen  God  at  any  time." 
God  says,  "No  man  shall  see  me  and 
live.*  But  we  may  all  believe  in  some 
things,  which  we  never  saw.  We  never 
saw  the  wind,  and  yet  we  know  it  blows. 
Like  the  wind,  God  may  exist,  though 
not  seen  by  us.  We  all  believe  that 
many  men  are  now  alive,  whom  we 
never  saw,  but  whose  works  we  have 
seen,  or  whose  fame  we  have  heard  of. 
Therefore,  it  is  as  foolish  as  it  is  wicked 
to  doubt  whether  there  be  a  God,  sim- 
ply because  we  never  saw  him.     But  I 


10  SHORT    SERMONS. 

will  tell  you  why  I  believe  there  is  a 
God. 

Not  long  ago,  I  went  with  four  little 
children  into  a  watchmakers  shop,  and 
there  a  man  brought  out  a  little  box, 
and  put  a  key  into  a  small  hole  in  the 
side  of  it,  and  wound  it  up.  He  then 
set  down  the  box,  and  touched  a  spring, 
and  the  top  flew  open,  and  a  little  bird, 
not  as  large  as  a  humming  bird,  hopped 
out,  and  flapped  its  wings,  and  sang,  or 
seemed  to  sing,  a  pretty  tune.  When  it 
had  sung  its  tune,  it  hopped  down  into 
the  box  and  we  saw  it  no  more.  It  was 
made  of  brass  and  silver  and  gold.  It 
was  very  small  and  very  beautiful.  The 
little  boys  and  girls  that  were  with  me 
were  much  pleased.  Charles  said,  "  How 
pretty  it  is."  James  said,  "  How  it  sings." 
Mary  said,  "  I  wish  I  had  it.  I  would 
give  a  dollar  for  it."  She  was  told  the 
price  of  it  was  six  hundred  dollars. 
Jane  asked, "  Who  made  it  ?"  Mr.  Smith, 
the  watchmaker,  told  her  it  was  made 


THERE    IS    A    GOD.  11 

by  a  man  in  Geneva,  in  Switzerland. 
We  all  left  the  store  in  good  spirits  and 
went  out  to  a  grove.  Here  were  many- 
living  birds.  Some  were  black,  some 
were  blue,  some  were  red,  some  were 
yellow,  some  were  green,  and  many  were 
speckled.  One  had  a  white  body,  and 
red  head,  and  black  wings.  One  was 
black  all  over  except  the  wings,  which 
were  of  the  colour  of  gold.  Every  one 
of  them  could  hop  from  branch  to  branch, 
and  from  tree  to  tree.  They  could 
build  nests,  and  find  food  for  themselves 
and  for  their  young  ones.  They  could 
all  make  some  noise.  The  notes  of  most 
of  them  were  very  sweet.  One  of  them 
could  mock  all  the  rest.  He  had  the 
notes  of  the  quail,  the  jay,  the  blue-bird, 
the  robin,  the  cat-bird,  and  a  dozen 
others.  He  is  called  the  mocking-bird. 
The  sun  shone  clearly,  and  a  little  rain 
the  night  before  had  made  the  air  cool 
and  pleasant.  So  we  all  walked  through 
the  grove,  and  found  some  pretty  flowers. 


12  SHORT    SERMONS. 

We  then  came  to  a  cool  spring,  and 
took  a  drink  of  water.  Near  the  spring 
was  a  large  rock,  and  on  it  we  sat  down 
to  rest.  "  Now,  is  not  this  fine  ?"  said  I. 
"  Yes,  yes,  yes,  yes,"  was  heard  from  all. 
Just  then  two  or  three  birds  near  us  sang 
sweetly,  as  if  to  please  us.  I  thought  it 
was  a  good  time  to  talk.  So  I  said,  "  If 
a  man  in  Geneva  made  the  bird  in  the 
box,  how  came  all  the  living  birds  here  ? 
Did  they  make  themselves?"  Charles 
said,  "  How  could  they  make  themselves  ? 
I  saw  in  my  book  the  other  day,  that 
6  nothing  can  make  nothing.' "  "  Well," 
said  I,  "  did  the  man  in  Geneva  make 
them?"  Jane  answered,  "  No !  he  never 
saw  them.  He  could  not  make  such 
birds  as  these.  The  bird  in  the  box  is 
the  best  he  could  make,  and  it  cannot 
lay  eggs,  and  hatch  young  ones,  and  fly 
about,  and  build  nests,  and  eat  cherries." 
I  then  said,  "  Did  they  just  grow  with- 
out any  one  making  them?"  Charles 
replied,  "  How  could  they  ?"     Mary  said, 


THERE    IS    A    GOD.  13 

"I  can  tell  you  how  they  came  here. 
God  made  them.  No  man  could  make 
them.  None  could  make  them  but  God 
himself.  I  know  there  is  a  God,  because 
there  are  so  many  pretty  birds." 

I  added,  "  You  are  all  right,  my  chil- 
dren. There  is  a  God.  If  these  little 
birds  were  put  under  the  water,  they 
would  all  die,  yet  there  are  thousands  of 
living  things  in  the  water,  that  would 
die  if  they  were  brought  out  of  it.  God 
has  fitted  the  birds  to  the  air,  and  the 
fishes  to  the  sea.  He  has  made  every 
thing  good,  and  we  ought  to  believe  that 
he  is.  His  works  are  all  around  us. 
They  are  many,  and  great,  and  wise. 
Let  us  never  doubt  that  there  is  a  God." 

REMARKS. 

If  there  is  a  God,  we  ought  to  believe 
in  him,  and  think  of  him.  We  ought  to 
love  him,  and  fear  him,  and  obey  him, 
and  not  sin  against  him.  We  ought  also  to 
trust  in  him.    Little  birds  do  his  will, 


14  SHORT   SERMONS. 

and  praise  liim  in  their  way.  We  ought 
to  praise  him  in  our  pretty  hymns,  and 
in  our  hearts.  And  we  ought  to  pray  to 
him,  as  he  has  taught  us : 

"Our  Father  which  art  in  heaven, 
Hallowed  be  thy  name.  Thy  kingdom 
come.  Thy  will  be  done  in  earth,  as  it 
is  in  heaven.  Give  us  this  day  our  daily 
bread.  And  forgive  us  our  debts,  as  we 
forgive  our  debtors.  And  lead  us  not 
into  temptation,  but  deliver  us  from  evil : 
For  thine  is  the  kingdom,  and  the  power, 
and  the  glory,  for  ever."     Amen. 


SERMON  II. 

(86b  is  ©rcat. 
Thou  art  great,  0  Lord  God. — 2  Sam.  vii.  22 

A  serious  little  child  was  speaking 
about  God.  A  wicked  man,  who  was 
near,  said :  "  How  big  is  your  God  ?" 
The  child  said,  "  He  is  so  great  that  the 
heaven  of  heavens  cannot  contain  him, 
and  so  lowly  that  he  even  dwells  in  this 
little  heart  of  mine."  God  exists  of  him- 
self. He  has  life  in  himself.  He  de- 
pends on  no  other  being.  God  has  been 
from  eternity,  and  he  shall  be  to  eternity. 
He  is  and  was  and  is  to  come.  "One 
day  is  with  the  Lord  as  a  thousand  years, 
and  a  thousand  years  as  one  day."*  An 
eternity  past  or  an  eternity  to  come,  is 

*2Pet.  iii.  8. 

15 


16  SHORT    SERMONS. 

beyond  all  human  thought.  God  is  also 
great  in  wisdom.  By  wisdom  he  made 
the  heavens.  In  wisdom  he  has  made 
all  his  works.  He  chooses  wise  ends, 
and  wise  means  of  gaining  his  ends. 
God  is  so  wise  that  he  charges  the  angels 
with  folly.  God  did  not  learn  wisdom. 
He  always  had  it.  Neither  has  any  one 
taught  him  knowledge.  He  knows  all 
things,  that  ever  have  been,  that  now 
are,  or  that  ever  shall  be.  He  knows 
also  all  that  ever  could  be.  "Known 
unto  God  are  all  his  works  from  the 
beginning."  u  Neither  is  there  any  crea- 
ture that  is  not  manifest  in  his  sight: 
but  all  things  are  naked  and  opened  to 
the  eyes  of  him  with  whom  we  have  to 
do."*  "Hell  is  naked  before  him,  and 
he  has  seen  the  doors  of  the  shadow  of 
death."  "  The  eyes  of  the  Lord  are  in 
every  place,  beholding  the  evil  and  the 
good."  Such  knowledge  is  too  high  for 
us ;  we  cannot  attain  unto  it. 
*Heb.  iv.  13. 


GOD    IS    GREAT.  17 

God  is  also  present  in  every  place. 
u  He  is  not  far  from  every  one  of  us  ;  for 
*  in  him  we  live  and  move  and  have  our 
being."  "Am  I  a  God  at  hand,  saith 
the  Lord,  and  not  a  God  afar  off?  Do 
not  I  fill  heaven  and  earth  ?" 

The  sun  is  distant  from  the  earth 
ninety-five  millions  of  miles,  but  in  every 
direction  from  us,  even  much  farther 
than  the  sun,  God  is  present.  We  can- 
not go  where  God  is  not. 

Then,  too,  he  is  great  in  power.  He 
has  all  power.  He  can  do  all  things. 
He  can  make  or  destroy  a  world  by  a 
single  word.  He  has  made  all  that  now 
exists.  He  said,  "  let  there  be  light,  and 
there  was  light."  "  He  spake  and  it  was 
done,  he  commanded  and  it  stood  fast." 
"  He  hangeth  the  earth  upon  nothing." 
"  He  taketh  up  the  isles  as  a  little  thing. 
He  weigheth  the  mountains  in  scales 
and  the  hills  in  a  balance."  This  world, 
in  which  we  live,  has  been  moving  more 
than  sixty  thousand  miles  every  hour, 


18  SHORT    SERMONS. 

since  it  was  made.  It  is  God,  that  rolls 
it  on.     Is  he  not  a  great  God  ? 

God  is  also  great  in  truth.  He  cannot 
lie.  -He  always  has  kept  his  word,  and  he 
always  will.  "Let  God  be  true  and  every 
man  a  liar."  God  hates  all  lies  and  fraud 
and  cheating.  He  never  mocks  any  of  his 
creatures.     He  is  the  God  of  truth. 

God  is  also  great  in  love,  in  mercy,  in 
patience,  in  pity,  in  kindness,  and  in  all 
goodness.  The  Bible  says,  "  God  is  love." 
He  made  the  world,  and  because  he  was 
thus  loving,  he  made  it  all  good.  And 
there  never  was  such  love  as  that  which 
led  God  to  give  us  his  Son.  The  strangest 
thing  I  ever  heard  of  was  God's  love  to 
sinners.  The  more  I  think  of  it,  the 
more  I  wonder  at  it.  God's  mind  is  a 
vast  ocean,  full  of  love.  0  that  we  all 
loved  him  in  return  as  we  ought. 

O  for  this  love  let  rocks  and  hills 

Their  lasting  silence  break ; 
And  all  harmonious  human  tongues 

The  Saviour's  praises  speak. 


GOD    IS    GREAT.  19 

God  is  also  great  in  holiness.  He  is 
"glorious  in  holiness."  Isaiah  saw  him  in 
the  year  that  king  Uzziah  died,  and 
heard  one  seraph  cry  to  another,  and  say: 
"  Holy,  holy,  holy,  is  the  Lord  of  Hosts : 
the  whole  earth  is  full  of  his  glory."* 
Because  he  is  holy,  he  hates  all  sin. 
And  because  he  is  holy,  he  is  also  just. 
He  is  so  just,  that  he  can  do  no  wrong. 
He  hates  every  act  that  is  not  just. 
And  because  he  is  just,  "He  is  angry 
with  the  wicked  every  day."  "  Just  and 
true  are  thy  ways,  Lord  God  Almighty." 

God  is  also  great  in  glory  and  majesty. 
"  He  sitteth  upon  the  circle  of  the  hea- 
vens." He  rides  upon  the  stormy  wind. 
The  thunder  has  been  called  his  voice, 
and  lightnings  his  arrows.  When  he 
came  down,  the  sea  uttered  its  voice  and 
lifted  up  its  hands  on  high.  Moses  went 
up  into  Mount  Sinai  and  talked  with 
God  for  forty  days,  and  when  he  came 
down,  his  face  was  so  bright  that  he  had 
*Isa.  vi.  1,3. 


20  SHORT    SERMONS. 

to  put  a  vail  over  it.  He  got  this  bright* 
ness  from  talking  with  God.  When  John 
saw  the  appearance  of  the  Son  of  God 
in  a  vision,  u  his  head  and  his  hairs  were 
white  like  wool,  as  white  as  snow ;  and 
his  eyes  were  as  a  flame  of  fire ;  and  his 
feet  like  unto  fine  brass,  ....  and  his 
voice  as  the  sound  of  many  waters, 
and  his  countenance  was  as  the  sun  shin- 
eth  in  his  strength."  John  says,  "  when 
I  saw  him,  I  fell  at  his  feet  as  dead."* 

God  must  be  very  great,  or  he  could 
not  take  care  of  the  worlds  and  the  crea- 
tures that  he  has  made.  Angels,  and 
men,  and  beasts,  and  birds,  and  fishes, 
and  insects,  and  little  living  things,  so 
small  that  we  cannot  see  them  with  our 
eyes,  all  receive  their  life  and  food  from 
God.     Truly  he  is  a  great  God. 

REMARKS. 

I.  What  poor,  weak,  mean  things  we 
all  are.     "What  shadows  we  are,  and 
*Rev.  i.  14—17. 


GOD    IS    GREAT.  21 

what  shadows  we  pursue."  We  are 
worms  of  the  dust.  "  All  flesh  is  grass." 
Pride  ill  becomes  us.  When  the  sun 
rises,  the  stars  cease  to  shine.  And  when 
God  is  full  in  view,  all  men  are  like  grass- 
hoppers.    Let  us  be  humble. 

II.  Let  us  be  very  slow  in  judging 
God.  It  is  very  wicked  in  us  to  try  to 
know  more  of  God  than  he  tells  us. 
"  Fools  rush  in  where  angels  fear  to 
tread." 

God's  way  is  in  the  sea,  and  his  paths 
in  the  great  waters.  Let  us  not  try  to 
see  too  far,  but  rather  stand  in  awe  and 
sin  not. 

III.  If  God  be  so  great,  then  those 
who  trust  in  him  need  not  be  afraid. 
God  will  take  care  of  them.  He  has 
said  that  he  will  be  their  help,  and 
strength,  and  shield,  and  rock,  and  guide, 
and  portion,  and  reward,  for  ever. 

IV.  It  is  an  awful  thing  to  have  so 
great  a  God  against  us.  Let  sinners  be 
afraid.     They  have  good  cause  of  fear. 


22  SHORT    SERMONS. 

A  wicked  man  is  against  himself.  The 
law  of  God  is  against  him.  The  gospel 
is  against  him,  as  long  as  he  rejects  it. 
Life  is  against  him.  Death  is  against 
him.  All  things  are  against  him,  because 
God  is  against  him.  Oh  that  you  would 
all  now  cease  to  sin  against  him.  If 
you  fight  against  him,  he  will  fight 
against  you. 

PRAYER. 

Thou  Great  and  mighty  God,  whose 
nature  is  so  high  and  pure  and  bright, 
that  we  cannot  even  know  it  all — have 
mercy  upon  us.  Show  us  thy  love. 
Use  thy  power  to  protect  us,  and  thy 
wisdom  to  guide  us,  and  thy  mercy  to 
save  us.  Keep  us  from  all  trials  that 
are  too  hard  for  us.  Fill  us  with  holy 
fear.  Let  us  not  be  afraid  of  man,  whose 
breath  is  in  his  nostrils.  Be  thou  to  us 
all  and  in  all,  for  the  sake  of  Jesus  Christ 
alone.    Amen. 


SERMON  III. 

®fje  <5oob  Sljepfjerfr. 
I  am  the  good  Shepherd. — John  x.  11. 

Keeping  flocks  was  common  in  old 
£mes.  Kings  and  rulers  were  often 
called  shepherds.  God  himself  is  called 
a  shepherd;  and  the  Lord  Jesus  says, 
"  I  am  the  good  Shepherd."  I  wish  to 
tell  you  something  about  the  flock  of 
Christ,  and  about  Christ  as  a  shepherd. 

I.  The  flock  of  Christ  has  in  it  some 

old  sheep,  that  have  been  with  him  a 

long   time.     Some   of  these   are   strong 

and  healthy,  others  are  feeble  and  sickly. 

Some  have  been  with  him  but  a  little 

while.     We   do   not   call    them    sheep. 

They  are  young.  We  call  them  lambs, 

and  some  of  them  we  call  little  lambs. 

Christ  said  to  Peter,  "Feed  my  sheep; 

feed  my  lambs."  Christ's  flock  is  not  very 

23 


24  SHORT    SERMONS. 

large.  It  has  no  strength  of  itself.  It 
cannot  defend  itself.  If  left  alone,  it 
would  be  eaten  up  by  the  wolves.  Even 
old  sheep,  left  alone,  cannot  fight  wolves. 
All  that  love  Christ  and  hate  sin  belong 
to  his  flock.  If  we  do  not  love  him,  we 
are  but  goats. 

II.  I  will  tell  you  something  about 
the  Shepherd.  The  text  calls  him  "  the 
good  Shepherd."  He  is  both  God  and 
man.  He  knows  what  his  flock  needs. 
He  is  mighty  to  save,  and  strong  to 
deliver.  He  is  very  loving.  He  loved 
us  so  that  he  laid  down  ihis  life  for  us. 
He  died  for  the  lambs  as  well  as  for  the 
sheep.  Jesus  Christ  shed  his  blood  for 
little  children.  All  the  children  that 
are  now  in  heaven  were  washed  in  his  pre- 
cious blood.  David  was  once  a  shepherd, 
and  there  came  a  Hon  and  a  bear  to 
carry  off  some  of  his  lambs.  But  he 
went  after  them  and  slew  them  at  the 
risk  of  his  life.  But  Jesus  Christ  knew 
that  to  save  his  flock  he  must  die.    He 


THE    GOOD    SHEPHERD.  25 

is  the  best  friend  little  boys  and  girls  have. 
He  has  done  more  for  them  than  all  the 
world  beside.  He  is  the  chiefest  among 
ten  thousand.  There  is  none  like  Jesus. 
Some  years  ago,  a  friend  of  mine 
was  in  Greece,  in  the  month  of  March. 
He  was  travelling  in  the  country  where 
the  shepherds  live.  He  came  to  three 
shepherds  with  their  flocks.  One  had 
about  six  hundred  and  fifty  sheep,  an- 
other had  about  seven  hundred,  and 
the  other  had  about  seven  hundred  and 
fifty.  In  all,  they  had  about  twenty- 
one  hundred  sheep.  They  were  out  in 
the  valleys  where  the  grass  grew.  All 
the  flocks  were  mingled  together.  Every 
sheep  had  its  own  name.  It  would  not 
come  nor  go,  if  called  by  any  other  name; 
nor  would  it  come  nor  go,  if  called  by  any 
but  its  own  shepherd.  Every  shepherd 
knew  all  his  own  sheep.  He  knew  their 
names  also.  If  any  one  was  about  to  go 
into  a  wrong  place  he  called  it,  and  it 

turned  back.     If  the  way  was  narrow  or 
3 


26  SHORT   SERMONS. 

steep,  he  would  go  before,  and  they 
would  follow  him.  This  is  just  like 
what  the  Bible  says  about  Christ  and 
his  flock.  "The  sheep  hear  his  voice: 
and  he  calleth  his  own  sheep  by  name, 
and  leadeth  them  out.  And  when  he 
putteth  forth  his  own  sheep,  he  goeth 
before  them,  and  the  sheep  follow  him : 
for  they  know  his  voice.  And  a  stranger 
will  they  not  follow,  but  will  flee  from 
him:  for  they  know  not  the  voice  of 
strangers.  I  am  the  good  shepherd  and 
know  my  sheep,  and  am  known  of  mine. 
I  lay  down  my  life  for  the  sheep." 

The  day  my  friend  saw  the  shepherds 
was  a  cold  day.  Some  of  the  lambs 
were  quite  strong,  and  full  of  play ;  but 
some  of  them  were  very  young  and  ten- 
der. The  cold  chilled  them,  and  they 
could  not  walk.  The  shepherds  had  on 
something  like  large  cloaks  tied  round 
their  necks,  and  girt  about  their  waists. 
So  they  took  up  the  little  lambsr  and  put 
them  in  their  bosoms.    But  they  did  not 


THE    GOOD    SHEPHERD.  A I 

smother  them.  They  left  their  heads 
out,  so  that  they  could  breathe  well. 
But  they  kept  them  snug  and  warm. 
It  was  a  pleasing  sight  to  see  an  old 
shepherd  with  his  long  gray  beard,  and 
his  bosom  full  of  lambs.  Just  so  the 
Bible  says  of  Christ.  "  He  shall  gather 
the  lambs  in  his  arms,  and  carry  them 
in  his  bosom."  Many  little  children 
have  loved  Christ.  And  he  has  never 
let  such  perish.  He  is  as  good  to  little 
children  as  to  old  people.  He  says,  "I 
love  them  that  love  me,  and  those  that 
seek  me  early  shall  find  me." 

Among  the  twenty-one  hundred  sheep 
were  some  old  and  feeble  ones.  They 
could  not  walk  much.  If  the  way  was 
miry  or  steep,  they  could  hardly  go 
along.  So  the  shepherds  would  come, 
and  put  their  crooks  under  their  bodies, 
just  behind  their  fore-legs,  and  help 
them  along.  They  treated  them  with 
great  gentleness  and  care.  Just  so  "  the 
good  Shepherd  has  pity  on  the  weak,  and 
gently  leads    them    along.     He    never 


28  SHORT   SERMONS.  . 

leaves  nor  forsakes  them.  "His  rod 
and  his  staff  comfort  them."  He  leads 
all  his  sheep  into  his  fold  for  safety. 
He  leads  them  out,  that  they  may  find 
pasture.  If  little  boys  and  girls  are 
wise,  they  will  desire  above  all  things  to 
belong  to  Christ's  flock.  I  hope  all  of 
you  will  commit  to  memory  the  twenty- 
third  Psalm.  It  is  beautiful.  "  The  Lord 
is  my  shepherd ;  I  shall  not  want.  He 
maketh  me  to  lie  down  in  green  pas- 
tures: he  leadeth  me  beside  the  still 
waters.  He  restoreth  my  soul :  he  lead- 
eth me  in  the  paths  of  righteousness  for 
his  name's  sake.  Yea,  though  I  walk 
through  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of 
death,  I  will  fear  no  evil;  for  thou  art 
with  me;  thy  rod  and  thy  staff  they 
comfort  me.  Thou  preparest  a  table  be- 
fore me  in  the  presence  of  mine  enemies ; 
thou  anointest  my  head  with  oil;  my  cup 
runneth  over.  Surely  goodness  and 
mercy  shall  follow  me  all  the  days  of  my 
life:  and  I  will  dwell  in  the  house  of 
the  Lord  for  ever." 


THE  GOOD  SHEPHERD.       29 
LET  US  PRAY. 

0  God,  we  are  sinners.  We  have  all 
gone  astray  like  lost  sheep.  It  is  of  thy 
mere  mercy  that  we  have  not  perished 
long  ago.  We  would  have  thee  for  our 
Shepherd.  Do  thou  feed  us,  and  protect 
us,  and  guide  us.  Let  us  not  fall  a  prey 
to  him  who  goeth  about  like  a  roaring 
lion  seeking  whom  he  may  devour.  Put 
thy  spirit  within  us.  If  we  go  astray, 
bring  us  back.  When  we  are  faint  and 
thirsty,  0  lead  us  to  the  still  waters  of 
salvation.  Grant  that  we  may  find  food 
for  our  souls  in  thy  precious  word. 
Help  us  to  love  thee  more  and  more. 
Let  us  not  incline  to  our  own  ways  or  to 
our  own  wills.  If  we  are  brought  into 
any  danger,  do  thou  be  with  us.  May 
we  all  belong  to  that  one  fold,  of  which 
there  is  but  one  Shepherd.  We  ask  all 
for  the  sake  of  Jesus  Christ,  our  Lord 
and  Saviour.     Amen. 

3* 


SERMON  IV. 
®l)e  Scat  of  (8>ob. 

The  fear  of  the  Lord  is  the  beginning  of  wis- 
dom. — Ps.  cxi.  10. 

The  words  of  the  text  are  also  found 
in  Proverbs  ix.  10.  In  Proverbs  i.  10, 
it  is  said :  "  The  fear  of  the  Lord  is  the 
beginning  of  knowledge."  Isaiah,  speak- 
ing of  a  good  man,  says  :  "  The  fear  of 
the  Lord  is  his  treasure."* 

This  holy  fear  does  not  consist  at  all 
in  dismay,  nor  is  it  mere  dread  and 
terror.  The  true  fear  of  God  is  always 
found  with  the  love  of  God.  Fear  of 
God  has  always  been  a  part  of  true  reli- 
gion, and  it  always  will  be.  "  They  shall 
fear  Thee  as  long  as  the  sun  and  moon 
endure."  f    To  fear  God  aright,  we  must 

*  Isa.  xxxiii.  6.  t  Ps.  Ixxii.  5. 

30 


THE    FEAR    OF    GOD.  31 

have  divine  grace.*  We  must  fear  God 
because  he  is  great,  and  because  he  is 
kind.f  When  Moses  was  in  the  mount 
with  God,  and  saw  his  glory,  he  said : 
"  I  exceedingly  fear  and  quake."  When 
Isaiah  saw  his  glory,  he  said :  "  Woe  is 
me !  for  I  am  undone ;  because  I  am  a 
man  of  unclean  lips,  and  I  dwell  in  the 
midst  of  a  people  of  unclean  lips :  for 
mine  eyes  have  seen  the  King,  the  Lord 
of  Hosts."  When  one  of  the  prophets, 
Habakkuk,  had  a  view  of  God,  he  said  : 
"  My  lips  quivered  at  the  voice;  rotten- 
ness entered  into  my  bones,  and  I  trem- 
bled in  myself." 

When  this  fear  of  God  is  of  the  right 
kind,  it  lasts  all  the  day,  and  all  the  life. 
The  Bible  says:  " Happy  is  the  man 
that  feareth  always."  "  Be  thou  in  the 
fear  of  the  Lord  all  the  day  long."  J 
And  Paul  says :  "  Work  out  your  own 
salvation    with    fear    and    trembling. § 

*  Heb.  xii.  28.  t  Dan.  ix.  4 ;  Ps.  cxxx.  4. 

X  Prov.  xxviii.  14,  and  xxiii.  17.        §  Phil.  ii.  12. 


32  SHORT    SERMONS. 

Even  Christ  "was  heard  in  that  he 
feared."*  So  that  there  is  no  true  piety 
without  the  fear  of  God.  He  who 
thinks  he  has  faith,  and  hope,  and  love, 
and  joy,  but  has  no  fear  of  God,  is  a 
poor,  vain  creature.  Some  one  may  ask, 
Does  not  John  say  "that  perfect  love 
casteth  out  fear?"f  I  answer,  Yes.  But 
the  kind  of  fear  of  which  he  there 
speaks,  "  hath  torment."  But  this  holy 
fear,  of  which  I  speak,  as  a  part  of  all 
true  piety,  has  no  torment. 

I  wish  to  show  you  how  much  good  this 
fear  of  God  will  do  us  all,  if  we  have  it. 

1.  It  keeps  us  from  being  ready  to 
join  with  the  wicked,  who  would  do 
us  harm. J  "  Tell  me  with  whom  you 
go,  and  I  will  tell  you  who  you  are,"  is 
a  Spanish  proverb ;  and  it  is  true.  Bad 
company  is  one  of  the  worst  things  in 
all  the  world.  It  ruins  children,  and  it 
ruins  men.     Almost  every  man  who  is 

*Heb.v.7.  fl  Johniv.  18. 

tlsa.viii.  12,  13. 


THE    FEAR    OF    GOD.  33 

punished  for  his  crimes,  says  that  he  fell 
into  his  bad  ways  by  mixing  with  bad 
boys  or  bad  men.  If  he  had  feared  God 
as  he  should,  he  would  not  have  gone 
with  them. 

2.  The  fear  of  God  drives  away  the 
fear  of  man,  which  brings  a  snare.  Je- 
sus said,  "  I  say  unto  you,  my  friends, 
Be  not  afraid  of  them  that  kill  the  body, 
and  after  that  have  no  more  that  they 
can  do.  But  I  will  forewarn  you  whom 
ye  shall  fear.  Fear  him,  who,  after  he 
hath  killed,  hath  power  to  cast  into  hell; 
yea,  I  say  unto  you,  Fear  him."  He 
who  fears  God,  as  he  should,  will  do 
right,  even  if  men  laugh  at  him,  or  curse 
him,  or  even  kill  him.  When  the  Apos- 
tles said  to  the  High  Priest,  and  all  that 
were  with  him,  "  We  ought  to  obey  God 
rather  than  men,"  *  I  think  the  fear  of 
God  made  them  able  to  say  so. 

3.  It  gives  us  boldness,  when  we  are 
in  the  right.   All  the  righteous  fear  God, 

*Actsv.  29. 


34  SHORT   SERMONS. 

and  the  wicked  do  not.  And  Solomon 
says :  "  The  wicked  flee  when  no  man 
pursueth :  but  the  righteous  are  bold  as 
a  lion."*  It  is  very  bad  to  be  always 
afraid  of  every  thing.  Some  seem  to  be 
afraid  of  their  own  shadow.  And  many 
are  afraid  to  look  mankind  in  the  face. 
But  he  who  fears  God  "  shall  have  a 
place  of  refuge." 

4.  The  fear  of  God  greatly  holds  us 
back  from  sin.  The  Bible  says :  "  The 
fear  of  the  Lord  is  a  fountain  of  life  to 
depart  from  the  snares  of  death."  "  The 
fear  of  the  Lord  is  clean."f  It  keeps  us 
from  sin  more  than  any  thing  else  does. 

5.  The  fear  of  the  Lord  frees  us  from 
great  care  about  the  world.  I  have 
already  said  how  Habakkuk  was  afraid 
of  God.  But  his  fear  freed  him  from 
care.  The  very  next  words  are,  "  Al- 
though the  fig-tree  shall  not  blossom, 
neither  shall  fruit  be  in  the  vine ;    the 

*Prov.  xxviii.  1.     See  also  Prov.  xiv.  26. 
t  Ps.  xix.  9. 


THE    FEAR    OF    GOD.  35 

labour  of  the  olive  shall  fail,  and  the 
fields  shall  yield  no  meat;  the  flock 
shall  be  cut  off  from  the  fold,  and  there 
shall  be  no  herd  in  the  stalls :  Yet  will 
I  rejoice  in  the  Lord.  I  will  joy  in  the 
God  of  my  salvation.  The  Lord  is  my 
strength,  and  he  will  make  my  feet  like 
hind's  feet."*  So  you  see  that  holy  fear 
and  true  joy  go  together. 

6.  When  we  fear  God,  as  we  should, 
he  comes  down  and  dwells  with  us. 
"  The  secret  of  the  Lord  is  with  them 
that  fear  him ;  and  he  will  show  them 
his  covenant."  f  God  has  many  secrets, 
which  he  reveals  to  them  that  fear  him. 
The  world  knows  not  these  secrets,  and 
cares  not  for  them ;  but  still  they  are 
worth  knowing.  If  you  fear  God,  he 
will  teach  you  what  they  are,  better 
than  I  can  tell  you. 

7.  It  is  a  great  thing  to  fear  God  in  a 
time  of  general  distress.  Hear  what 
David  says  in  such  a  time :    "  0  God, 

*Hab.  iii.  17—19.  t  Ps.  xxv.  14. 


36  SHORT    SERMONS. 

thou  hast  cast  us  off,  thou  hast  scattered 
us,  thou  hast  been  displeased ;  0  turn 
thyself  to  us  again.  Thou  hast  made 
the  earth  to  tremble;  thou  hast  broken 
*t:  heal  the  breaches  thereof;  for  it 
haketh.  Thou  hast  showed  thy  people 
hard  things:  thou  hast  made  us  to 
drink  the  wine  of  astonishment.  Thou 
hast  given  a  banner  to  them  that  feared 
thee,  that  it  might  be  displayed  because 
of  the  truth."  *  I  wish  you  would  all 
learn  these  verses  by  heart : 

I'm  a  companion  of  the  saints, 
Who  fear  and  love  the  Lord; 

My  sorrows  rise,  my  nature  faints, 
When  men  transgress  thy  word. 

While  sinners  do  thy  gospel  wrong, 

My  spirit  stands  in  awe ; 
My  soul  abhors  a  lying  tongue, 

But  loves  thy  righteous  law. 

My  heart  with  sacred  reverence  hears  ■ 
The  threatenings  of  thy  word ; 

My  flesh  with  holy  trembling  fears 
The  judgments  of  the  Lord. 
*  Ps.  lx.  1—4. 


THE    FEAR   OF    GOD.  37 

My  God,  I  long,  I  hope,  I  wait. 

For  thy  salvation  still ; 
While  thy  whole  law  is  my  delight, 

And  I  obey  thy  will. 

PRAYER. 

0,  Lord  God  Almighty,  I  fear  before 
thee.  Justly  mightest  thou  shut  me  out 
of  heaven,  but  in  mercy  pardon  me, 
and  teach  me  thy  fear.  I  can  do  no- 
thing of  myself.  But  if  thou  wilt  help 
me,  I  shall  be  able  to  please  thee.  Let 
thine  own  spirit  make  me  of  quick  un- 
derstanding in  the  fear  of  the  Lord,  for 
Christ's  sake.   Amen. 


M 


SERMON  V. 

Seeking  tf>e  Corir. 

Seek  ye  the  Lord  while  he  may  he  found. 
Isa.  lv.  8. 

I  wish  to  tell  you  what  it  is  to  seek 
the  Lord,  how  to  seek  Him,  and  when  to 
seek  Him. 

I.  What  is  it  to  seek  the  Lord  ?     To 

seek  the  Lord,  is  to  seek  to  know  him. 

We   do   not   know  Him   until   we   are 

taught.     We  are  by  nature  in  darkness 

as  to  God.     Of  course  we  must  seek  to 

learn  his  will,  his  love,  his  nature,  his 

right  to  rule  us,  and  his  way  of  saving 

us.    We  must  also  seek  his  favour.   We 

are  born  in  sin,  and  have  not  his  favour 

by  nature.     We  need  his  favour.     It  is 

life.     It  is  better  than  life.     If  we  have 
38 


SEEKING    THE    LORD.  39 

God  on  our  side,  all  the  world  may  be 
against  us,  but  we  are  safe.  But  if  God 
be  against  us,  we  are  undone,  even  if  all 
men  were  for  us.  "We  must  also  seek 
God's  image.  By  nature  we  are  not  like 
God.  We  are  more  like  Satan.  Christ 
said  :  "  Ye  are  of  your  father,  the  devil." 
It  is  a  great  thing  to  be  like  God,  to 
wear  his  image.  If  we  would  be  like 
Him,  we  must  seek  to  be  like  Him.  We 
must  also  seek  to  serve  God.  His  ser- 
vice is  freedom.  David  would  serve 
God  as  a  door-keeper  in  his  house,  rather 
than  live  a  wicked  life.  No  one  ever 
served  God  for  nought.  God  treats  all 
his  servants  well.  If  we  love  Him,  we 
will  seek  to  serve  Him,  and  to  please 
Him.  It  is  a  great  thing  to  please  God. 
We  must  also  seek  to  commune  with 
God.  He  has  said  that  He  will  make 
his  abode  with  those  that  love  him.  The 
Psalmist  was  very  happy  when  he  said, 
"The  Lord  of  hosts  is  with  us."*     The 

*Ps.  xlvi.  11 


40  SHORT    SERMONS. 

last  words  of  John  Wesley  were  :  "  The 
best  of  all  is,  God  is  with  us."  We  must 
also  seek  to  be  with  God,  when  we  shall 
be  no  longer  in  this  world.  Paul  sought 
to  be  with  him.  He  said  it  was  far  bet- 
ter to  be  with  Christ  than  to  be  in  this 
world.  We  must  long  to  dwell  with 
God.  We  must  hasten  to  the  coming 
of  the  day  of  the  Son  of  Man.  It  is  hea- 
ven to  be  for  ever  with  the  Lord. 

II.  But  how  must  we  seek  Him  ?  This 
is  a  very  great  point.  Many  seek,  and 
never  find,  because  they  seek  amiss.  I 
say,  then,  we  must  seek  humbly.  "  God 
resisteth  the  proud."  "The  wicked, 
through  the  pride  of  his  countenance, 
will  not  seek  after  God."  No  less  than 
ten  times  is  it  said  in  the  four  gospels : 
"  He  that  humbleth  himself  shall  be  ex- 
alted ;  but  he  that  exalteth  himself  shall 
be  abased."  We  must  humble  our  hearts 
in  the  dust.  No  man  ever  was  too 
lowly.  There  is  no  ground  of  fear  that 
you  will  think  too  little  of  yourself.  God 


SEEKING    THE    LORD.  41 

"  giveth  grace  to  the  humble."  Confess 
in  your  heart  that  you  are  very  sinful, 
very  guilty,  very  vile.  The  publican 
was  humble,  and  God  saved  him.  Paul 
was  humble,  and  he  did  not  perish.  The 
woman  of  Canaan  was  humble.  She  was 
not  angry  when  Christ  spake  of  her  as  a 
dog.  True  humility  is  not  easily  offend- 
ed.    She  got  what  she  wanted. 

You  must  also  seek  God  from  day  to 
day,  and  to  the  end  of  your  life.  One 
man  said  he  would  seek  God  for  six 
months.  He  never  found  him,  while  he 
was  in  that  mind.  You  must  hold  on  as 
long  as  you  live. 

The  fearful  soul,  that  tires  and  faints, 
And  walks  the  ways  of  God  no  more, 

Is  but  esteemed  almost  a  saint, 

And  makes  his  own  destruction  sure. 

"  If  any  man  draw  back,"  says  God, 
"my  soul  hath  no  pleasure  in  him." 
You  must  also  seek  God  supremely. 
That  is,  you  must  seek  him  above  all 
things  else.    You  must  seek  him  more 


42  SHORT    SERMONS. 

than  health,  and  friends,  and  ease,  and 
riches,  and  life  itself.  Church  history 
tells  of  a  very  little  boy,  that  gave  up 
his  life,  rather  than  cease  to  seek  the 
Lord.  As  long  as  you  love  something 
else  more  than  God,  your  heart  will  go 
after  it  in  spite  of  you.  "You  cannot 
serve  God  and  mammon."  "  If  any  man 
love  the  world,  the  love  of  the  Father  is 
not  in  him."  You  must  leave  all  for 
Christ.  You  must  give  up  all  to  Christ. 
The  Lord  is  worthy  of  your  whole  heart, 
because  he  is  the  Lord.  If  you  seek  him 
thus,  you  shall  find  him.  He  says,  "  Ye 
shall  seek  me,  and  find  me,  when  ye 
shall  search  for  me  with  all  your  heart."* 
You  must  seek  the  Lord  through 
Christ.  If  God  ever  saves  you,  it  will 
not  be  for  your  sake ;  it  will  be  wholly 
for  Christ's  sake.  You  have  no  merit. 
What  holy  thing  did  you  ever  do  ?  But 
Jesus  Christ  is  worthy.  In  him  the 
Father  is  well  pleased.  Christ  never 
*Jer.  xxix.  13. 


SEEKING    THE    LORD.  43 

sends  away  any  that  come  to  him.  He 
says,  "  Him  that  cometh  to  me,  I  will  in 
nowise  cast  out."*  That  is  as  true  of 
little  children  as  of  any  others. 

III.  But  zvhen  must  you  seek  the  Lord  ? 
I  answer,  you  must  seek  him  in  this  life, 
and  not  in  the  next ;  "  for  there  is  no 
work,  nor  device,  nor  knowledge,  nor 
wisdom,  in  the  grave  whither  thou 
goest."f  You  ought  to  seek  the  Lord 
while  in  health,  and  not  wait  till  you  are 
sick.  When  we  are  sick,  we  are  in  a 
poor  state  for  so  great  a  work.  A  sick 
young  man  once  said,  "  I  am  so  sick  that 
I  cannot  think."  If  one  cannot  think, 
how  can  he  turn  to  the  Lord?  You 
ought  to  seek  the  Lord  in  your  youth. 
He  says,  "I  love  them  that  love  me; 
and  those  that  seek  me  early  shall  find 
me."  %  Jeremiah  and  John  the  Baptist 
had  found  the  Lord  before  they  were 
near  as  old  as  you.  Samuel  and  Josiah 
also  loved  God  when  they  were  quite 
*  John  vi.  37.      tEccl.  ix.  10.      jProv.  viii.  17. 


44  SHORT    SERMONS. 

young.  If  you  do  not  love  God  when 
you  are  young,  it  may  be  that  you  will 
never  love  him  at  all,  for  you  may  die 
even  while  you  are  a  child.  And  if  you 
die  in  sin,  it  had  been  good  for  you  if 
you  had  never  been  born.  Now,  God 
calls  you  by  his  word,  his  ministers,  and 
his  Spirit.  0,  yield  yourselves  to  God. 
I  once  saw  a  boy  about  to  die.  He  told 
me  to  tell  you,  not  to  put  off  religion  as 
he  had  done. 

PRAYER. 

Most  Holy  and  Kind  God,  our  Fa- 
ther in  heaven!  Thou  hast  said,  "  Seek 
ye  my  face."  Give  us  hearts  to  say, 
«  Thy  face,  Lord,  will  we  seek."  We  are 
blind,  and  cannot  see  afar  off.  Do  thou 
teach  us.  We  are  guilty,  do  thou  for- 
give us.  We  are  unholy,  do  thou  cleanse 
us.  We  have  served  the  wicked  one, 
bring  us  to  serve  thee.  Help  us  to  walk 
with  God,  and  to  draw  our  hopes  and 
comforts  from  thy  holy  word.     To  this 


SEEKING    THE    LORD. 


45 


end,  give  us  humble  hearts.  Let  us 
never  tire,  nor  grow  weary  in  trying  to 
please  thee.  Let  us  love  thee  above  all 
things.  Teach  us  how  to  put  our  trust 
in  Christ  alone.  Give  us  not  up  to  our 
own  vile  hearts.  Grant  that  our  child- 
hood, and  our  best  days,  yea,  and  all  our 
lives,  may  be  given  to  God.  When  we 
die,  may  we  die  the  death  of  the  right- 
eous, and  our  last  end  be  like  his.  We 
a,c  :x  all,  for  Christ's  sake.    Amen. 


SERMON  VI. 

Sip  Stubs  of  tlje  Sible. 

Search  the  Scriptures. — John  v.  39. 

The  Scriptures  are  the  word  of  God, 
In  them  God  speaks  to  every  man  that 
hears  or  reads  his  holy  word.  "  Blessed 
is  he  that  readeth,  and  they  that  hear 
the  words  of  this  prophecy."*  It  is 
every  one's  duty  to  "search  the  Scrip- 
tures." Christ  says  so  in  the  text.  Let 
me  ask  you  to  attend  to  some  things 
which  I  wish  to  say  on  this  subject. 

I.  The  study  of  the  Bible  is  a  great 
matter.  That  holy  book  treats  of  God, 
of  man,  of  time,  of  eternity,  of  heaven, 
and  of  hell.  It  speaks  only  truth  on  all 
matters.  He  who  knows  the  Bible  well, 
may   be  wise,   and   good,   and   happy, 

*Rev.i.3. 
46 


THE    STUDY    OF    THE    BIBLE.  47 

though  he  never  sees  any  other  book. 
The  Bible  is  full  of  truths,  even  of  the 
Tery  greatest  truths.  As  there  is  no 
God  like  the  true  God;  so  there  is  no 
book  like  God's  book.  It  does  more 
good  in  the  world  than  all  other  books 
beside.  All,  whose  hearts  were  not 
wicked,  have  found  it  sweeter  than 
honey,  and  more  precious  than  gold. 

II.  It  is  true  you  will  find  some  hard 
things  in  the  Bible.  "  It  is  like  a  lake, 
bo  deep  fn  the  middle,  that  an  elephant 
may  evrvn  in  it,  but  along  the  shore  a 
lamb  m.3y  wade  and  not  be  drowned." 
If  you  air?  i  child,  like  the  lamb,  you  can 
walk  near  the  shore.  There  may  be 
things  in  C\ie  Bible,  that  you  will  never 
fully  knon*  :  but  if  your  heart  is  right 
with  God,  /ou  can  learn  all  that  you 
need  to  kn»  w.  It  is  true,  our  minds  are 
very  weak  The  greatest  man  knows 
but  very  litJe  of  what  might  be  known. 
But  where  was  there  ever  a  man,  or 
even  a  chUd,  that  searched  the  Scrip- 


48  SHORT    SERMONS. 

tures,   and   did   not  learn    that  which 
ought  to  do  him  good  ? 

III.  I  will  now  tell  you  what  you 
must  be,  and  what  you  must  feel,  if  you 
would  get  much  good  by  searching  the 
Scriptures.  You  must  love  the  truth. 
You  know  you  ought  to  love  it.  He 
who  does  not  love  it,  must  still  be  in  his 
sins.  You  ought  to  love  the  truth  much. 
You  ought  to  love  it  more  than  you  love 
money,  or  sleep,  or  play,  or  any  thing 
else.  You  ought  not  to  think  that  you 
now  know  much;  but  you  ought  to 
search  the  Bible  with  low  thoughts  of 
your  own  mind,  for  it  is  very  weak. 
When  any  thing  is  hard,  ask  those  who 
can  teach  you.  You  ought  also  to  read 
the  Bible  in  the  fear  of  God.  I  have 
known  some  people  to  make  a  jest  of 
the  truths  of  Scripture.  I  hope  you 
will  never  do  that.  The  great  and  good 
Luther  said,  "  When  God  would  destroy 
a  man,  He  lets  him  make  a  jest  of  sa- 
cred things."   If  you  wish  to  have  mirth, 


THE    STUDY  OF    THE    BIBLE.  49 

let  it  not  be  profane,  but  innocent.  If 
you  would  learn  much,  you  must  search 
the  Scriptures  often,  and  day  by  day.  A 
very  wise  man  said  :  "  Get  a  little  at  a 
time,  and  as  often  as  you  can,  and  you 
will  soon  know  a  great  deal." 

You  must  also  be  patient,  and  not 
hasty.  No  one  expects  little  children  to 
think  and  study  as  much  as  old  people 
ought  to  do.  Still,  they  may  search  the 
Bible  much  more  than  most  of  them  do. 
You  must  also  pray  to  God  to  open  your 
eyes.  David  was  a  great  and  good  man. 
Yet  he  often  prayed  thus  :  "  Teach  me 
thy  statutes ;  open  thou  mine  eyes,  that 
•I  may  behold  wondrous  things  out  of 
thy  law."  If  David  had  need  to  pray 
thus,  surely  you  ought  to  ask  God  to 
teach  you.  If  you  would  learn  much, 
and  well,  you  must  practise  what  you 
learn.  The  best  way  to  keep  the  word 
of  God  in  mind,  is  to  keep  it  in  your 
life.  Jesus  Christ  says :  "  If  any  man 
will  do  his  will,  he  shall  know  of  the 


50  SHORT    SERMONS. 

doctrine,  whether  it  be  of  God."  James 
says,  "  If  any  man  be  a  hearer  of  the 
word,  and  not  a  doer,  he  is  like  unto  a 
man  beholding  his  natural  face  in  a  glass : 
for  he  beholdeth  himself,  and  goeth  his 
way,  and  straightway  forgetteth  what 
manner  of  man  he  is."*  The  Bible  is 
a  looking-glass.  It  shows  us  what  we 
are,  and  we  ought  to  look  into  it  very 
often,  and  do  what  we  find  it  teaches. 
Practice  is  the  very  life  of  piety.  To 
know  what  is  right,  and  not  do  it,  is 
wicked,  for  "  to  him  that  knoweth  to  do 
good,  and  doeth  it  not,  to  him  it  is  sin."f 
IV.  He  who  will  thus  search  the 
Scriptures,  shall  come  to  know  a  great 
deal  about  the  greatest  things.  David 
says  that  he  knew  more  than  all  his 
teachers,  and  more  than  the  ancients, 
because  he  studied  and  kept  God's  word.  J 
The  entrance  of  God's  words  giveth 
light.     You  need  not  be  afraid  that  you 

*  Jas.  i.  23,  24.  t  Jas.  iv.  17. 

X  See  Ps.  cxix.  99,  100. 


THE    STUDY    OF    THE    BIBLE.  51 

will  soon  learn  all  that  is  in  the  Bible. 
It  is  like  a  gold  mine,  where  a  man  may 
dig  every  day  of  his  life,  and  find  much 
gold,  and  yet  there  will  be  plenty  left 
for  all  his  children  to  dig  as  much  as 
they  want  all  their  lives.  The  word  of 
God  is  also  a  great  comfort  to  us  when 
we  are  sad  and  afflicted.  Indeed,  it  is 
the  only  comfort  we  sometimes  have. 
David  says,  "  Unless  thy  law  had  been 
my  delight,  I  should  then  have  perished 
in  mine  affliction."* 

REMARKS. 

1.  How  thankful  you  ought  to  be  that 
you  have  God's  holy  word.  Thousands 
and  millions  of  children  have  it  not.  I 
hope  you  all  do  what  is  in  your  power 
to  help  to  send  the  Bible  all  over  the 
world.  Could  not  each  of  you  save  a 
little  money,  and  give  it  to  this  good 
cause  ?    Try. 

2.  It  is  right  for  little  boys  and  girls 

*  Ps.  cxix.  92. 


52  SHORT   SERMONS. 

to  have  some  time  to  play.  If  you 
would  take  less  time  to  play,  and  more 
to  read  the  Bible,  would  it  not  be  better? 
I  would  be  glad,  and  I  do  not  think  any 
of  you  would  ever  be  sorry,  if  you  would 
get  a  great  deal  of  Scripture  by  heart. 
You  could  very  soon  get  a  whole  Psalm, 
or  a  whole  chapter,  and  then  it  would  be 
yours  for  life.  When  a  priest  took  the 
New  Testament  from  a  little  boy,  in 
Russia,  and  burned  it,  the  boy  said  :  "I 
have  got  the  first  seven  chapters  of 
Matthew  by  heart.  I  guess  you  can't 
burn  that !"  I  read,  not  long  ago,  of  a 
boy,  who  got  only  one  verse  by  heart, 
and  when  he  grew  to  be  a  man,  it  was 
the  means  of  his  salvation.  I  hope  you 
have  all  learned  the  twenty-third  psalm 
by  this  time. 

LET   US    PRAY. 

0  Lord,  thy  word  is  truth.  We 
thank  thee  for  the  Bible.  We  thank 
thee  that  we  can  read  it  and  hear  it.    It 


THE    STUDY    OF    THE    BIBLE.  53 

is  better  than  all  other  books.  It  con- 
verts the  soul;  it  makes  wise  the  simple; 
it  rejoices  the  heart;  it  tells  us  the 
greatest  things  and  the  best  things. 
Give  us  grace  to  love  it,  and  to  do  what 
it  requires.  Give  us  thy  Holy  Spirit  to 
open  our  eyes,  that  we  may  see  clearly 
what  our  duty  is,  and  what  thy  will  is. 
In  mercy  give  us  faith,  that  we  may  be- 
lieve with  our  hearts  all  that  thou  hast 
spoken.  We  ask  all  for  Christ's  sake. 
Amen. 


5* 


SERMON  VII. 
ttlje  tonrtl)  of  tlje  Qonl 

Ye  are  of  more  value  than  many  sparrows. 
Luke  xii.  7. 

The  birds,  here  called  sparrows,  were 
quite  small,  and  were  sold  in  the  market 
at  Jerusalem.     People  ate  them. 

I  wish  to  prove  that  you,  little  chil- 
dren, are  worth  more  than  many  spar- 
rows. You  are  worth  more  than  they 
are,  not  because  God  made  you,  and  did 
not  make  them ;  for  the  same  God  that 
made  little  birds  also  made  little  boys 
and  little  girls. 

Nor  are  you  worth  more  than  they, 

because  you  are  larger.  Your  worth  does 
54 


THE   WORTH    OF    THE    SOUL.  55 

not  depend  upon  your  size ;  and  if  they 
were  as  large  as  a  camel,  you  would  still 
be  worth  more  than  many  of  them. 

Nor  are  you  worth  more  than  they, 
because  you  would  sell  for  more  money 
in  the  market.  I  do  not  know  that  any- 
body would  buy  you,  if  you  were  set  up 
to  be  sold.  But  if  they  did,  they  would 
not  give  many,  many,  many,  millions  of 
dollars,  and  you  are  worth  more  than 
all  that. 

Nor  are  you  worth  more  than  the  little 
birds,  because  you  wear  better  clothes,  for 
your  clothes  are  not  so  pretty  as  their's. 
Even  Solomon,  in  all  his  glory,  was  not 
arrayed  like  the  humming-bird,  the  pea- 
cock, or  the  bird  of  paradise. 

Nor  are  you  worth  more  than  they, 
because  you  can  sing  more  sweetly  than 
they  can.  For  the  notes  of  some  of  them 
cannot  be  beaten. 

Nor  are  you  worth  more  than  they, 
because  you  live  in  this  world  longer. 
Hany  little  children  die  sooner  than  the 


56 


SHORT    SERMONS. 


humming-birds ;  and  the  eagle  lives  to  be 
more  than  a  hundred  years  old.  Some 
have  said  that  the  elephant  lives  four 
hundred  years,  and  that  the  whale  lives 
a  thousand  years,  and  you  are  of  more 
value  than  all  these. 

Do  you  ask,  why  you  are  worth  more 
than  many  sparrows  ?     I  will  tell  you. 

1.  You  can  know  God,  and  the  birds 
and  beasts  cannot  know  him.  You  now 
know  something  of  God.  You  ought  to 
read,  and  ask  questions,  and  pray  God  to 
teach  you  to  know  more  of  him.  "  To 
know  God  and  Jesus  Christ,  whom  he 
has  sent,  is  life  eternal ."  No  knowledge 
is  so  good,  so  pure,  or  so  useful  as  the 
knowledge  of  God. 

2.  You  can  love  God,  and  the  birds 
and  beasts  cannot.  How  can  they  love 
him,  if  they  cannot  know  him?  You 
ought  "  to  love  him  with  all  your  heart, 
and  soul,  and  strength,  and  mind."  "  God 
is  love ;"  and  he  that  dwelleth  in  love, 
dwelleth  in  God;  he  that  "  loveth  is  bora 


THE    WORTH    OF    THE    SOUL.  57 

of  God."  He  that  loves  God  keeps 
God's  law ;  "  for  love  is  the  fulfilling  of 
the  law." 

3.  You  can  fear  God,  but  the  birds 
and  beasts  cannot.  "  The  fear  of  the 
Lord  is  the  beginning  of  wisdom."  A 
child,  that  in  his  heart  fears  God,  all  the 
day  long,  will  never  want  any  good  thing. 
If  his  father  and  mother  forsake  him,  the 
Lord  will  take  him  up.  If  he  is  sick, 
God  will  watch  over  him,  "and  make 
all  his  bed  in  his  sickness."  "  Blessed  is 
he  that  feareth  always." 

4.  You  can  praise  God  in  a  way  the 
birds  and  beasts  cannot.  You  can  praise 
him  in  your  heart.  They  have  no  heart 
to  praise  him  with.  You  can  praise  him 
as  the  angels  in  heaven  do.  You  ought 
to  praise  him,  for  he  is  so  good,  and  wise, 
and  holy,  and  just,  and  true,  and  kind, 
and  merciful.  He  has  been  very  good 
to  you.  When  any  one  gives  you  an 
apple,  or  an  orange,  or  a  cup  of  cold 


58  SHORT   SERMONS. 

water,  you  say,  "I  thank  you."  God 
has  given  you  all  things  richly  to  enjoy. 
God  is  much  honoured  when  little  chil- 
dren sincerely  praise  him.  The  little 
birds  cannot  say  as  you  may  all  say : 

"  I'll  praise  my  Maker  with  my  breath ; 
And  when  my  voice  is  lost  in  death, 

Praise  shall  employ  my  nobler  powers ; 
My  days  of  praise  shall  ne'er  be  past, 
While  life  and  thought  and  being  last, 

Or  immortality  endures." 

5.  You  can  be  like  God,  and  the  birds 
and  beasts  cannot.  If  you  would  be  like 
him,  you  must  be  born  again,  and  get 
new  hearts.  I  do  not  mean  that  you  can 
be  like  him  in  all  things,  but  I  mean  you 
can  be  like  him  in  goodness,  in  truth,  in 
love,  and  mercy. 

6.  And  if  you  are  like  him,  you  shall 
be  with  him  when  you  die.  But  the 
birds  and  beasts  go  down  to  the  dust, 
and  there  is  no  more  of  them.  It  is  a 
great  thing  to  be  with  God,  to  see  his 


THE    WORTH    OF    THE    SOUL.  59 

glory,  and  to  serve  him  day  and  night 
And  if  you  do  not  go  to  God  when  you 
die,  you  will  go  to  hell. 

7.  You  are  worth  more  than  the  birds 
and  beasts,  because  they  live  only  a  few 
years,  and  you  will  live  as  long  as  God 
exists, — even  for  ever  and  ever.  Now, 
have  not  I  proved  that  you  are  worth 
more  than  many  sparrows ;  yea,  than  all 
birds,  and  beasts,  and  fishes  ? 

LET    US    PRAY. 

0  God,  thou  didst  make  us,  and  not 
we  ourselves.  Thou  hast  given  us 
friends,  and  food,  and  raiment,  and  shel- 
ter, and  teachers,  and  the  blessed  Bible. 
We  ought  to  love  thee.  Give  us  new 
hearts.  Keep  us  from  the  evil  that  is  in 
the  world.  Let  us  not  be  unkind  to  one 
another,  nor  cruel  to  any  living  thing. 
Help  us  to  think  much  of  Thee.  Give 
us  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who 
died  for  us.     Cause  us  to  think  much  of 


60 


SHORT    SERMONS. 


the  value  of  our  souls,  and  of  our  need 
of  mercy,  and  when  all  living  things  on 
earth,  and  the  earth  itself,  shall  be  burn- 
ed up,  let  us  dwell  with  thee,  for  Christ's 
sake.     Amen. 


SERMON  VIII. 

iDe  all  belong  to  <5oir. 

Ye  are  not  your  own. — 1  Cor.  vi.  19. 

A  little  boy  found  a  knife,  and  the 
first  thing  he  said,  was,  "  It  is  very  hand- 
some." He  looked  at  it  a  little  while, 
and  then  said  :  "  It  is  not  mine.  I  should 
love  to  have  a  knife,  but  I  wish  the  owner 
of  this  knife  had  it."  So  he  asked  all 
the  boys  that  he  met,  the  question : 
"Whose  knife  is  this?"  At  last  he 
found  the  owner,  and  gave  it  to  him. 
One  boy  said,  "  If  I  should  find  a  knife, 
I  should  keep  it,  and  not  tell  any  one." 
But  it  would  have  been  mean,  and 
wicked  too,  to  keep  that  which  was  not 
his  own.  It  would  have  been  a  kind  of 
stealing.  The  commandment  says, "  Thou 
shalt  not  steal."     When  he  had  found 

the  owner,  and  given  up  the  knife,  he 
6  61 


62  SHORT    SERMONS. 

felt  that  he  had  done  right.  We  ought 
all  to  give  to  every  one  what  is  his  own. 

Now  you  do  not  belong  to  yourselves, 
nor  to  any  man.  You  belong  to  God 
alone.  Both  your  soul  and  body  are  his. 
I  will  prove  it. 

I.  He  made  you.  A  boy  went  out 
and  got  a  piece  of  wood,  and  made  a 
bow  and  arrow.  Now,  it  was  his,  be- 
cause he  made  it.  It  would  have  been 
wrong  for  any  other  boy  to  have  taken 
it,  and  carried  it  away.  He,  who  made 
it,  had  a  clear  right  to  it,  because  he  had 
made  it.  So  God  made  your  soul  and  your 
body.  No  one  else  made  you.  "  He  that 
built  (or  made)  all  things  is  God."  "  The 
sea  is  his,  and  he  made  it,  and  his  hands 
formed  the  dry  land."  *  Therefore,  the 
sea  and  the  dry  land  belong  to  God.  If, 
when  a  boy  or  a  man  makes  a  thing,  it 
is  his,  why,  when  God  makes  a  thing, 
should  it  not  be  his  also  ?  We  have  be- 
longed to  God  ever  since  we  were  born, 
*Ps.  xcv.  5. 


WE    ALL    BELONG    TO    GOD.  63 

and  we  shall  be  bound  to  love  him,  and 
serve  him  to  all  eternity. 

II.  God,  as  our  king,  has  a  right  to 
us.  He  is  strong,  and  wise,  and  good. 
He  can  rule  us,  and  guide  us,  and  help 
us.  He  is  just  such  a  king  as  we  all 
need  over  us.  "For  the  Lord  is  a  great 
God,  and  a  great  King  above  all  gods." 
Men  sometimes  try  to  rule  over  us,  when 
they  have  no  right  to  do  it.  But  God 
has  all  right.  He  is  so  strong,  that  he 
can  do  any  thing.  He  is  so  wise,  that 
he  cannot  err.  He  is  so  good,  that  he 
cannot  be  unkind.  There  is  none  like 
him.  It  is  better  for  us  to  belong  to 
God,  than  to  belong  to  ourselves,  or  to 
any  one  else.  If  God  were  to  give  us 
up,  and  never  again  to  claim  us  as  his  own, 
it  would  be  the  worst  thing  in  the  world 
for  us. 

III.  God  has  kept  you,  and  blessed 
you  all  your  days.  He  has  been  a  friend 
and  a  father  to  you.  He  has  heaped 
many  blessings  upon  you.    He  has  given 


64  SHORT    SERMONS. 

you  life,  and  food,  and  raiment,  and 
friends,  and  books,  and  teachers,  and  all 
the  health  and  joy  you  have  had.  None 
has  been  so  kind  to  you  as  God.  None 
could  have  done  so  much  for  you  as  God 
has  done.  It  must  be  very  wicked  to 
claim  to  be  your  own,  when  you  belong 
to  God.  He  says,  "  Hear,  0  heavens, 
and  give  ear,  0  earth :  for  the  Lord 
hath  spoken;  I  have  nourished  and 
brought  up  children,  and  they  have  re- 
belled against  me.  The  ox  knoweth  his 
owner,  and  the  ass  his  master's  crib: 
but  Israel  doth  not  know,  my  people 
doth  not  consider."*  If  the  ox  knows 
his  owner,  you  ought  to  know  your 
owner.  If  the  ass  knows  his  master's 
crib,  you  ought  to  know  the  hand  thax 
feeds  you.  Again,  God  says,  "A  son 
honoureth  his  father,  and  a  servant  his 
master :  if  then  I  be  a  father,  where  is 
mine  honour?  and  if  I  be  a  master, 
where  is  my  fear  ?" 

*Isa.  i.  2,3. 


WE    ALL    BELONG    TO    GOD.  65 

IV.  All  of  you  who  have,  or  have  had 
a  pious  father  or  mother,  belong  to  God 
by  their  vows.  Every  Christian,  who 
has  children,  loves  to  give  them  and  all 
he  has  to  God,  and  he  begs  God  to  take 
them.  He  is  not  more  afraid  of  any 
thing  than  of  having  God  reject  his  gifts. 
And  if  your  parents  were  not  pious,  they 
ought  to  have  been,  and  they  ought  to 
have  given  you  to  God.  Samuel's  mo- 
ther gave  him  to  God.  Your  parents 
had  a  right  to  give  you  to  God.  They 
were  bound  to  give  you  to  him.  What 
sort  of  a  Christian  would  that  be,  who 
would  say,  "  Lord,  I  give  thee  my  soul 
and  my  body,  but  I  will  not  give  thee 
my  time,  nor  my  money,  nor  my  chil- 
dren?" You  belong  to  God,  every  one 
of  you. 

V.  Jesus  Christ  has  a  right  to  you,  be- 
cause he  died  for  sinners.  It  was  great 
love  in  Christ  to  come,  and  suffer,  and 
die  for  so  vile  creatures  as  we  all  are. 

Every  one,  who  shall  ever  be  saved,  has 
6* 


66  SHORT    SERMONS. 

been  bought  with  a  price  far  above  his 
value.  Peter  says,  "  Ye  know  that  ye 
were  not  redeemed  with  corruptible 
things,  as  silver  and  gold;  .  .  .  but  with 
the  precious  blood  of  Christ,  as  of  a  Lamb 
without  blemish,  and  without  spot."  *  If 
you  will  not  yield  yourselves  to  God  out 
of  love  to  Christ,  I  cannot  say  less  than 
that  your  hearts  are  very  wicked. 

REMARKS. 

1.  God  asserts  and  always  will  assert 
his  right  to  you  and  to  all  men.  He 
says,  "  All  souls  are  mine."  f  He  says, 
"The  world  is  mine,  and  the  fulness 
thereof."  J 

2.  God  will  enforce  his  right  to  you, 
and  to  all  men.  He  says  he  is  "  A  jea- 
lous God."  That  is,  he  is  jealous  of  his 
own  rights.  He  says  again,  "  My  glory 
will  I  not  give  to  another."  And  again, 
"  The  soul  that  sinneth,  it  shall  die." 

3.  It  is  very  wicked  not  to  give  God 
*  1  Pet.  i.  18, 19.      tEzek.  xviii.  4.      JPs.  1.  12. 


WE    ALL    BELONG    TO    GOD.  67 

his  own.  Sin  is  robbery.  "  Will  a  man 
rob  God?  Ye*  ye  have  robbed  me."* 
If  it  is  wrong  to  take  a  bow  and  arrow 
from  the  boy,  to  whom  they  belong,  it 
must  be  very  wrong  indeed  not  to  give 
ourselves  to  God ;  for  we  all  belong  to 
Him. 

4.  All  who  have  given  their  hearts 
and  themselves  to  God  have  done  right. 
They  have  done  their  duty;  but  they 
have  done  no  more  than  their  duty.  It 
would  have  been  a  great  sin  to  have 
done  less.  0  that  you  would  give  your 
hearts  to  him.  It  would  be  the  very 
best  thing  you  ever  did.  You  would  be 
glad  of  it,  not  only  as  long  as  you  live, 
but  for  ever  and  ever.  Will  you  give 
him  your  heart  ?     Say, — will  you  ? 

LET    US   PRAY. 

0  Lord,  we  are  not  our  own.     Our 
hands,  and  feet,  and  head,  and  heart, 
and  soul,  and  mind,  and  strength,  and 
*  Mai  iii.  8. 


68 


SHORT    SERMONS. 


time,  and  body,  and  all  belong  to  thee 
Though  we  have  sinned,  do  thou  take 
us,  just  as  we  are,  and  make  us  thine  by 
divine  grace.  Adopt  us  as  thy  children. 
Let  us  never  go  astray  from  thee.  Teach 
us  to  keep  thy  word,  and  find  delight  in 
serving  thee.  Apply  to  us  the  precious 
blood  of  Christ,  and  be  our  God,  and  Fa- 
ther, and  friend  for  ever,  for  Christ's 
sake.    Amen. 


SERMON  IX. 

foje  are  all  Sinners. 

All  have  sinned. — Rom.  iii.  23. 

The  law  of  God  is  given  in  the  ten 
commandments.  This  law  is  the  rule 
for  us  to  live  by.  Every  deed,  and  word, 
and  thought,  which  is  not  what  this  law 
demands,  is  sinful.  It  is  a  wicked  thing 
to  be  a  sinner ;  for  God's  law  is  holy,  just, 
and  good.  God,  who  made  us,  has  a 
right  to  give  us  a  law,  and  require  us  to 
obey  it.  Not  to  obey  it  is  sin.  I  shall 
prove  to  you  that  we  are  all  sinners. 

I.  God  says  so,  and  he  always  speaks 

the  truth.    He  says  so  in  the  text.  "  We 

have   all   sinned."     We   are  by  nature 

69 


70  SHORT   SERMONS. 

sinners.  Paul  says,  "We  all  were  by 
nature  the  children  of  wrath,  even  as 
others."*  We  are  born  sinners.  David 
says,  "  Behold,  I  was  shapen  in  iniquity, 
and  in  sin  did  my  mother  conceive  me."f 
The  young  lion  has  as  truly  the  nature 
of  a  lion  as  if  he  were  old.  He  may  not 
have  yet  roared  and  ravened  on  his  prey ; 
but  he  is  a  lion.  A  little  child  has  not 
done  the  many  horrid  deeds  that  old  sin- 
ners have  done,  but  it  has  a  sinful  na- 
ture, and  it  will  soon  show  it.  "The 
wicked  are  estranged  from  the  womb : 
they  go  astray  so  soon  as  they  be  born, 
speaking  lies."{  It  is  the  nature  of  the 
Ethiopian  to  have  a  dark  skin.  It  is 
the  nature  of  the  leopard  to  have  spots. 
So  it  is  the  nature  of  men  to  love  evil, 
and  hate  good,  and  go  away  from  God. 
"  In  many  things  we  offend  all."  That 
is,  "  We  all  offend  in  many  things."  § 

*Eph.  ii.  3.  IPs.  li.  5. 

%  Ps.  lviii.  3.  §  James  iii.  2. 


WE    ARE    ALL    SINNERS.  71 

God  also  says,  "There  is  none  right- 
eous, no,  not  one :  There  is  none  that 
understandeth,  there  is  none  that  seek- 
eth  after  God.  They  are  all  gone  out 
of  the  way.  There  is  none  that  doeth 
good,  no,  not  one."  *  "  If  we  say  that 
we  have  no  sin,  we  deceive  ourselves, 
and  the  truth  is  not  in  us."f  We 
are  all  sinners.  God  says  so.  He  says 
so  often.  If  he  had  said  it  but  once,  it 
would  be  true,  and  ought  to  be  believed. 
Surely  we  should  believe  him,  when  he 
often  says  so. 

II.  All  good  men  in  the  world  confess 
that  they  are  sinners ;  and  if  good  men 
are  sinners,  bad  men  must  be  sinners 
also.  Job  says,  (chap.  xlii.  6,)  "  I  abhor 
myself,  and  repent  in  dust  and  ashes." 
Isaiah  says,  (chap.  vi.  5,)  "  Wo  is  me !  for 
I  am  undone ;  because  I  am  a  man  of 
unclean  lips,  and  I  dwell  in  the  midst  of 
a  people  of  unclean  lips."  Every  good 
*  Rom.  iii.  10—12.  1 1  John  i.  8. 


72  SHORT    SERMONS. 

man  confesses  that,  naturally,  his  "  heart 
is  deceitful  above  all  things,  and  despe- 
rately wicked."  * 

III.  All  wise  men  show  that  in  their 
hearts  they  believe  men  are  sinners. 
They  do  not  believe  all  they  hear,  and 
that  shows  they  think  men  are  apt  to 
depart  from  the  truth.  Men  put  locks, 
and  bars,  and  bolts,  to  their  houses  and 
goods,  because  they  think  they  live  in  a 
world  where  sin  abounds.  Every  jail 
and  gallows  proves  that  men  are  wicked. 
All  history  shows  that  all  men  have  be- 
lieved this  to  be  a  wicked  world,  and 
for  good  reasons  too.  For  deceit,  lying, 
stealing,  fraud,  murder,  treason,  war, 
violence,  hatred,  envy,  and  many  great 
sins  make  up  the  larger  part  of  history. 
Read  it,  and  you  will  see. 

IV.  All  men  know  that  they  are  sin- 
ners, although  some  do  at  times  deny  it. 
Every  man's  conscience  accuses  him  of 

*  Jer.  xvii.  9. 


WE    ARE    ALL    SINNERS.  73 

some  sin.  There  is  no  man  who  does 
not  often  wish  that  he  had  not  done  cer- 
tain things.  a  If  our  heart  condemn  us, 
God  is  greater  than  our  heart,  and  know- 
eth  all  things." *  Our  hearts  are  often 
very  blind  and  dark;  yet  they  often 
condemn  us.  God  knows  all  things.  In 
him  is  no  darkness  at  all.  Therefore, 
he  must  see  in  us  much  that  is  wicked. 
"The  heavens  are  not  clean  in  his  sight."f 
How  very  vile  we  must  all  be  in  God's 
sight.     Truly  we  are  all  sinners. 

REMARKS. 

1.  If  we  are  sinners,  we  ought  to  be 
very  sorry  for  it.  We  should  repent 
truly  before  God.  We  cannot  be  too 
sorry  that  we  have  broken  God's  holy 
law.    We  ought  never  to  have  done  so. 

2.  We  ought  to  hate  sin.  God  hates  it. 
I  do  not  know  that  God  hates  any  thing 
else  but  sin.  We  hate  many  kinds  of 
worms  and  creeping  things;    but  God 

•  1  John  iii.  20.  t  Job  xv.  15. 

7 


74  SHORT    SERMONS. 

does  not  hate  them.  He  feeds  them, 
and  keeps  them  alive.  But  he  hates  all 
sin.  He  hates  sin  in  all  people.  He 
says,  "  Oh,  do  not  this  abominable  thing 
that  I  hate."  *  God  does  hate  sin.  You 
ought  to  hate  it.  You  ought  to  hate  all 
sin.     You  ought  to  repent  of  it. 

3.  But  you  never  will  truly  hate  sin 
and  repent  of  it  until  you  get  a  new 
heart.  You  must,  therefore,  be  born 
again.  Jesus  said,  "  Verily,  verily,  I 
say  unto  thee;  except  a  man  be  born 
again,  he  cannot  see  the  kingdom  of 
God."  f  The  reason  why  you  must  be 
born  again,  is,  that  your  nature  is  wicked, 
and  your  heart  is  in  love  with  sin.  Plead 
with  God  to  give  you  a  new  heart  and  a 
new  spirit. 

Not  all  the  outward  forms  on  earth, 

Nor  rites  that  God  has  given, 
Nor  will  of  man,  nor  blood,  nor  birth, 

Can  raise  a  soul  to  heaven. 

*  Ter.  liv.  4.  t  John  iii.  3. 


WE    ARE    ALL    SIXXERS.  75 

Our  nature's  utterly  depraved, 

The  heart  a  sink  of  sin  : 
Without  a  change  we  can't  he  saved ; 

We  must  be  born  again. 

4.  How  kind  is  God  to  offer  mercy  to 
such  sinners  as  we  are.  We  deserve  no 
good  thing.  Yet  he  sends  us  many  bless- 
ings. Yea,  he  sends  us  the  gospel,  and 
offers  us  pardon — a  pardon  bought  with 
blood.  Surely  we  ought  to  accept  his 
offer.     We  ought  to  believe  in  Jesus. 

5.  To  slight  the  Saviour,  by  not  loving 
him  and  trusting  to  him,  is  the  worst 
of  sins. 

let  us  pray. 

0  God,  Most  High  axd  most  Holy, 
we  adore  thee  for  what  thou  art.  We 
praise  thee  for  what  thou  hast  done. 
We  humbly  pray  thee  to  give  us  broken 
and  contrite  hearts.  Give  us  godly  sor- 
row for  all  our  sins,  so  that  we  may  hate 
them  all,  and  hate  them  always.     Take 


76 


SHORT    SERMONS. 


away  the  heart  of  stone  out  of  our  flesh, 
and  give  us  hearts  of  flesh ;  put  thy  law 
within  us.  Give  us  thy  Holy  Spirit. 
Give  us  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
and  gave  us  for  His  sake.     Amen. 


SERMON  X. 

tDl)B  Cljrist  bicb. 
Olirist  died  for  our  sins. — 1  Cor.  xy.  3. 

All  men  agree  that  Christ  died.  The 
Jew  says  he  died.  The  Christian  says 
so.  Every  one  who  knows  any  thing  of 
Christ,  knows  that  he  died,  and  that  he 
died  on  the  cross.  This  is  a  great  truth, 
and  all  men  ought  to  think  of  it.  One 
great  end  of  the  Lord's  supper  is  to 
"show  forth  the  Lord's  death  till  he 
come," 

The  text  says,  Christ   died   for  our 

sins.     All  men  who  suffer,  may  be  said 

in  some  sense  to  suffer  for  sin.     "  Death 

came  by  sin."     Some  pains  are  sent  to 

wean  us  from  sin.     Some  pains  are  sent 

on  us  to  punish  us  for  our  own  sins* 
7*  77 


78  SHORT    SERMONS. 

Some  pains  are  sent  on  us  to  give  us  a 
chance  to  glorify  God  by  our  patience 
and  submission  to  his  holy  will,  and 
thus  also  do  good  to  others.  But  Christ 
never  did  love  sin,  and  never  did  any 
thing  sinful.  He  had  no  sin  of  his  own. 
He  "  knew  no  sin."  He  did  not  die  for 
his  own  sins.  He  had  none  to  die  for. 
Yet  he  died,  and  he  died  for  "  sins." 

The  text  says  he  died  for  our  sins. 
That  makes  it  all  plain.  We  had  many 
sins,  and  great  sins  too.  He,  the  just, 
died  for  us,  unjust.  He,  the  Holy  One, 
died  for  us,  wicked  ones.  God  is  holy, 
and  hates  sin  with  all  his  heart.  God 
has  justly  said,  "  The  soul  that  sinneth, 
it  shall  die."  God  cannot  deny  himself, 
cannot  give  up  his  law.  He  cannot 
deny  his  right  to  rule  us  and  to  punish 
the  wicked.  Men  are  not  kept  out  of 
hell,  because  it  would  have  been  wrong 
for  God  to  send  them  there.  We  all 
deserve  to  go  to  hell.  Of  his  own  mere 
love  and  pity  and  kindness,  and  not  at 


WHY    CHRIST    DIED.  79 

all  for  our  worth,  Jesus  Christ  said  to 
his  Father,  "  I  will  die  for  them,  I  will 
take  a  body  at  the  right  time,  and  lay 
down  my  life  for  them.  Let  them  not 
die.  They  deserve  to  die,  but  if  I  die 
for  them,  then  God  can  be  just,  and  yet 
save  them.  I  will  die  in  their  place,  in 
their  stead."  The  Father  agreed  to  take 
Christ  at  his  word.  By  and  by  Christ 
was  born  in  Bethlehem.  And  when  he 
was  about  thirty-three  years  old,  he  died 
as  he  had  said  he  would.  He  died  will- 
ingly. He  said,  "I  lay  down  my  life. 
No  man  taketh  it  from  me."  God  was 
well  pleased  both  with  Christ's  life  and 
with  his  death.  He  showed  this  by 
raising  him  from  the  dead  the  third  day. 
He  was  made  under  the  law,  that  he 
might  redeem  them  who  were  under  the 
law.  The  curse  was  resting  on  us. 
Christ  bare  the  curse  in  his  own  body 
and  soul ;  for  his  soul  was  full  of  pain 
as  well  as  his  body.  He  was  a  fit  per- 
son to  die  for  our  sins.     He  was  a  man, 


80  SHORT    SERMONS. 

and  could  fee]  for  us,  and  die  for  us. 
He  was  also  God.  The  Bible  says  so. 
"The  Word  was  God."*  So  he  was 
equal  with  the  Father,  and  could  have 
power  with  God.  He  was  also  chosen 
by  God  to  this  very  work.  He  did  the 
work  the  Father  gave  him  to  do.  He 
did  it  all.  He  did  it  well.  He  was  the 
right  one  to  die  for  us,  and  be  at  once 
our  Friend  and  the  Friend  of  God. 

He  "died  for  our  sins/'  as  the  lamb 
died  for  the  sins  of  a  Jew  in  old  times. 
When  a  Jew  had  sinned,  he  took,  as 
God  said  he  should,  a  male  lamb,  that 
had  no  spot  nor  blemish,  and  brought  it 
to  the  altar  of  God.  Then  the  priest 
took  it  and  laid  it  on  the  altar,  and  the 
poor  Jew  came  and  put  his  hands  on  its 
head,  and  confessed  his  sins.  The  lamb 
could  not  then  be  let  loose  any  more. 
It  must  die  in  the  stead  of  the  Jew,  who 
had  sinned.  It  was  made  a  curse  for 
him.  It  was  a  victim  in  his  place. 
*  John  i.  1. 


WHY    CHRIST    DIED.  81 

The  priest  then  took  its  life  by  shedding 
its  blood.  The  man  went  free,  but  the 
lamb  died  for  his  sins  against  some  of 
the  laws  of  Moses.  So  "  Christ  died  for 
our  sins."  When  John  the  Baptist  saw 
Jesus  coming  to  him,  he  said,  "  Behold 
the  Lamb  of  God,  that  taketh  away  the 
sins  of  the  world."  *  Christ  had  no  spot 
of  sin  about  him.  He  was  the  priest 
that  made  the  offering.  He  offered  his 
own  soul  and  body.  Oh !  that  all  would 
come  to  him,  as  the  poor  sinning  Jew 
came  to  his  lamb ;  and  lay  their  hands 
on  him,  and  take  Him  for  their  lamb  to 
take  away  their  sins.  Those  are  sweet 
words  of  a  hymn  : 

My  faith  would  Jay  her  hand 
On  that  dear  head  of  thine, 

While  like  a  penitent  I  stand, 
And  there  confess  my  sin. 

Jesus   Christ  is  "  the   Lamb   of  God 
that  taketh  away  the  sins  of  the  world." 
He  takes   away  the   sins   of   old   and 
*  John  i.  29 


82  SHORT    SERMONS. 

young.  If  any  one  shall  ever  be  saved, 
it  must  be  by  Christ  alone.  The  very 
youngest  child  that  goes  to  heaven  is 
saved  by  Christ.  All  old  people  who 
escape  hell  are  saved  by  Christ.  This 
is  the  best  way  to  be  saved.  It  is  the 
only  way  to  be  saved.  Christ  says,  "  I 
am  the  way,  the  truth,  and  the  life ;  no 
man  cometh  to  the  Father  but  by  me." 
If  we  have  any  right  views  of  sin,  or  of 
God,  we  will  like  this  way.  It  suits  us 
so  well.  No  other  way  does  suit  us  at 
all.  Christ  died  for  all  our  sins,  and  not 
merely  for  some  of  them.  And  though 
he  was  dead,  he  is  alive  again  to  care  for 
us,  and  to  plead  for  us  before  God.  He 
is  our  advocate.  When  the  blood  of  a 
lamb  was  shed  by  a  priest  for  a  Jew,  the 
blood  must  be  sprinkled  soon,  lest  it 
grow  cold.  But  the  blood  of  Christ  is, 
as  it  were,  always  warm.  It  is  always 
fit  to  be  sprinkled  on  us  to  cleanse  us 
from  guilt.  So  it  is  said  in  one  of  our 
hymns. 


WHY    CHRIST   DIED.  83 

Dear  dying  Lamb,  thy  precious  blood 

Shall  never  lose  its  power, 
Till  all  the  ransomed  church  of  God 

Be  saved  to  sin  no  more. 

No !  his  blood  shall  never  lose  its  power. 
Oh  !  the  precious  blood  of  Christ.  You 
all  ought  now  to  come  to  him  and  be 
saved.  You  cannot  take  away  your  own 
sins,  nor  can  any  man  take  them  away. 
They  are  too  great  and  too  many.  But 
Jesus  can  take  them  all  away.  "He  is 
able  also  to  save  them  to  the  uttermost, 
that  come  unto  God  by  him."  He  has 
saved  millions  on  millions  already. 
How  sweet  it  will  be,  when  at  last  saved 
in  heaven  by  him,  to  sing  of  his  love. 

A  poor  Greenlander  once  heard  for 
the  first  time,  how  Christ  died  for  our 
sins,  and  he  said,  "If  this  Saviour  died 
for  me,  he  shall  be  my  Saviour :"  and  so 
he  became  a  Christian.  If  you  hear  and 
read  of  the  love  of  Christ  to  us  and  do 
not  love  him  also,  that  Greenlander  will 


84  SHORT    SERMONS. 

rise  in  the  judgment,  and  condemn  you 
Will  not  each  of  you  say  ? 

Here,  Lord,  I  give  myself  away : 
Tis  all  that  I  can  do. 

LET   US    PRAY. 

Thou  kind  and  holy  god;  we  thank 
thee,  that  thou  didst  so  love  the  world  as 
to  give  thy  Son  to  die  for  our  sins.  We 
ought  to  love  thee.  Draw  us  unto  thee. 
Let  us  not  have  our  own  way.  Let  us 
not  live  in  sin,  and  die  in  sin,  since  Jesus 
has  died  for  our  sins.  Help  us  to  come 
to  Christ.  Show  us  the  right  way  to 
come.  Give  us  hearts  to  come.  We  ask 
every  thing  in  his  name.     Amen. 


SERMON  XL 
©n  flrager. 

Ye  ask  and  receive  not,  because  ye  ash  amiss. 
James  iv.  3. 

"  All  is  not  gold  that  glitters."  And 
all  is  not  prayer  that  seems  to  be  such. 
It  is  a  fact  that  prayer  of  some  sort 
forms  a  part  of  worship  everywhere. 
All  nations  have  a  word  that  means 
prayer.  But  is  it  of  the  right  kind  ?  Is 
it  prayer  ?  If  it  is,  why  is  so  little  good 
done  by  it?  If  it  is  not,  we  ought  to 
know  it.  To  many  it  might  be  said: 
"  Ye  ask  and  receive  not,  because  ye  ask 
amiss." 

The  postures  which  we  use  will  not 
make  us  to  be  heard,  nor  cause  us  to  fail 
to  be  heard.     David  lay  on  the  ground 

and  prayed  all  night  for  his  child,  but  it 

8  85 


86  SHORT    SERMONS. 

died.  Hezekiah  lay  in  his  bed  with  his 
face  towards  the  wall,  and  prayed,  and 
God  added  fifteen  years  to  his  life.  The 
Pharisees  stood  at  the  corners  of  the 
street  and  prayed,  and  were  not  heard. 
The  publican  "  stood  afar  off"  from  the 
rest,  in  the  temple,  and  prayed,  and  was 
heard.  We  ought  to  assume  a  posture 
of  reverence.  Kneeling  is  a  very  proper 
posture.  But  the  posture  may  be  right 
and  the  prayer  worthless. 

So  we  may  use  the  words  of  Scripture, 
or  of  some  other  man,  or  men,  or  we  may 
use  our  own  words,  and  we  will  be  heard, 
or  not  heard,  according  as  our  hearts  are 
right  or  wrong.  Our  words  may  be  very 
poor,  and  yet  God  may  hear  us.  Our 
words  may  be  very  fine,  and  yet  we  may 
get  no  blessing. 

Neither  is  God  confined  to  any  time 
or  place.  We  ought  to  be  as  much  alone 
as  we  can,  when  we  offer  our  secret 
prayers.  But  it  is  right  to  unite  with 
others  in  social  and  public  prayers  in 


ON    PRAYER.  87 

our  houses  and  in  the  house  of  God,  on 
the  Lord's  day  and  on  all  days. 

Whether  God  will  hear  a  prayer  does 
not  depend  on  its  being  long  or  short. 
Repetitions  are  not  forbidden,  but  "  vain 
repetitions"  are.  The  publican's  prayer 
was  short  and  was  heard.  The  Phari- 
see's was  long,  and  wordy,  and  good  for 
nothing.  Still  prayers  may  be  too  long. 
"  Let  thy  words  be  few."* 

But  we  ask  amiss,  when  we  do  not 
really  wish  for  the  things  we  ask  for.  This 
is  mocking  God.  Yet  I  fear  many  do  it. 
Augustine  says,  that  at  one  time  he 
prayed  to  be  preserved  from  a  particular 
sin,  "  but  not  yet."  See  to  it  that  you 
truly  desire  what  you  ask  for. 

We  also  ask  amiss,  when  we  do  not 
look  and  long  for  an  answer  to  our 
prayers.  It  is  wrong  to  leave  a  prayer 
as  the  ostrich  leaves  her  egg  in  the  sand, 
to  take  care  of  itself.  When  we  send  a 
letter  to  a  friend,  we  look  for  an  answer, 
*Ecc.  v.  2. 


88  SHORT   SERMONS. 

until  one  comes.  So  if  we  are  in  good 
earnest  when  we  pray,  we  will  at  last 
cry  out :  "  0  Lord,  how  long  ?" 

We  also  pray  in  a  sinful  way,  when 
we  have  some  wicked  end  to  reach  by 
getting  what  we  ask.  "  Ye  ask  and  re- 
ceive not,  because  ye  ask  amiss,  that  ye 
may  consume  it  upon  your  lusts."  A 
man  may  pray  for  life,  or  health,  or 
wealth,  or  wisdom,  merely  to  please 
himself,  and  not  care  whether  he  honours 
God  or  not,  so  that  he  gets  what  he  asks. 

If  we  would  get  what  we  ask,  we 
must  be  careful  to  do  to  others  as  we 
ask  God  to  do  to  us.  If  you  would  ob- 
tain mercy  from  God,  be  careful  to  show 
mercy  to  all  around  you.  If  you  ask 
God  to  make  you  happy,  try  to  make 
every  one  around  you  happy.  If  you 
wish  God  to  pardon  you,  you  must  not 
hate  those  who  have  done  you  harm. 
"With  what  measure  ye  mete,  it  shall 
be  measured  to  you  again."  "  If  ye  for- 
give not  men  their  trespasses,  neither 


ON   PRAYER.  89 

will  your  heavenly  Father  forgive  you 
your  trespasses." 

We  ask  amiss,  when  we  are  not  will- 
ing to  do  or  suffer  what  God  may  send 
upon  us.  A  man  may  pray  for  a  good 
harvest,  yet  if  he  sows  no  seed,  the  rich 
harvest  will  not  come.  We  may  ask  to 
be  made  holy,  but  if  we  will  not  do  what 
God  tells  us,  and  try  to  avoid  sin,  we 
will  not  be  made  holy.  We  must  in  our 
hearts  hate  all  sin,  if  we  would  have 
our  prayers  heard.  "  If  I  regard  iniquity 
in  my  heart,  the  Lord  will  not  hear 
me."* 

We  ask  amiss,  when  we  think  hard 
of  God  for  not  giving  us  at  once  all  we 
ask  for.  We  must  be  patient,  and  wait 
his  time.  "  Blessed  are  all  they  that 
wait  for  him."f  "I  waited  patiently 
for  the  Lord,  and  he  inclined  unto  me 
and  heard  my  cry."J  Again,  "I  wait 
for  the  Lord,  my  soul  doth  wait,  and  in 

*Ps.  lxvi.  18.         t  Isaiah  xxxviii.  18. 
JPs.  xl.  1. 

8* 


90  SHORT    SERMONS. 

his  word  do  I  hope.  My  soul  waiteth 
for  the  Lord  more  than  they  that  watch 
for  the  morning ;  I  say,  more  than  they 
that  wateh  for  the  morning."* 

We  ask  amiss,  when  we  do  not  ask  in 
faith.  "He  that  cometh  to  God  must 
believe  that  he  is,  and  that  he  is  the  re- 
warder  of  them  that  diligently  seek  him." 
Without  faith  it  is  impossible  to  please 
him.  We  must  see  to  it  that  we  have 
faith  in  God,  and  that  we  believe  in 
Jesus.  We  must  ask  all  in  the  name 
of  Christ.  He  is  worthy.  He  says, 
"  If  ye  ask  any  thing  in  my  name,  I  will 
do  it."  And  our  hearts  must  be  in  our 
prayers. 

Let  us  not  ask  amiss,  but  let  us  ask 
aright.  If  we  do  ask  aright,  it  will  show 
that  we  have  true  piety.  All  God's  peo- 
ple pray.  Prayer  is  one  of  the  first 
things  that  a  new-born  soul  delights  in. 
None  of  God's  children  are  born  dumb. 
As  soon  as  bloody  Saul  of  Tarsus  had  a 
*  Ps.  cxxx.  5,  6t 


ON    PRAYER.  91 

new  heart,  it  was  said  of  him,  "  Behold 
he  prayeth."  And  if  we  ask  aright,  we 
shall  get  what  we  ask  for,  or  something 
better.  For  Christ  has  said,  "Ask,  and 
it  shall  be  given  you ;  seek,  and  ye  shall 
find ;  knock,  and  it  shall  be  opened  unto 
you."  And,  f  If  ye  being  evil  know  how 
to  give  good  gifts  unto  your  children, 
how  much  more  shall  your  Father,  who 
is  in  heaven,  give  good  things  to  them 
that  ask  him."* 

"  Jesus  the  Lord  will  hear 

His  people  when  they  cry, 
Yes,  though  He  may  a  while  forbear, 

He'll  help  them  from  on  high. 

"  His  nature,  truth,  and  love, 
Engage  him  on  their  side  ; 
When  they  are  grieved,  his  bowels  move, 
And  can  they  be  denied  ? 

"  Then  let  us  earnest  be, 

And  never  faint  in  prayer; 
He  loves  our  importunity, 

And  makes  our  cause  his  care." 

♦Matt,  vii.7,  11. 


92 


SHORT    SERMONS. 


PRAYER. 

0  Lord,  teach  us  to  pray.  <  We  know 
not  what  to  ask  for,  nor  how  to  ask  for 
any  thing.  Give  us  true  faith.  Show 
us  our  sins,  and  our  wants.  Take  away 
all  iniquity,  and  receive  us  graciously. 
Help  us  to  learn  what  our  duty  is,  and 
then  give  us  grace  to  do  it.  We  are 
poor,  and  blind,  and  naked.  Clothe  us 
with  thy  salvation.  Send  thy  Spirit  to 
open  our  eyes,  and  to  take  of  the  things 
of  Christ  and  show  them  unto  us.  Make 
us  rich  with  the  gifts  of  thy  grace,  for 
Jesus'  sake.     Amen. 


SERMON  XII. 

©n  pleasing  (Baft. 
He  pleased  Cfod. — Heb.  xi.  5. 

The  first  man  ever  born  into  this 
world,  that  we  are  sure  loved  God,  was 
Abel.  The  next  after  him  who  is  men- 
tioned as  loving  God,  was  Enoch,  of  whom 
Paul  in  the  text  says,  that  "  he  pleased 
God."  I  will  now  tell  you  something 
about  pleasing  God. 

I.  By    divine    grace    only    can    you 

please  God.    •  By  the  help  of  the  Lord, 

Enoch  pleased  him.     God  is  not  a  hard 

master.     He  does  not  ask  any  more  than 

is  his  due.     His  law  is  holy,  just  and 

good.     He  is  no  tyrant.     If  we  find  it 

hard  to  please  him,  it  must  be  because 

our  hearts  are  wicked.       If  we    will 

93 


94  SHORT    SERMONS. 

take  hold  of  his  strength  by  prayer,  and 
by  faith,  we  shall  be  able  to  do  his  will. 
Many  do  now  please  him,  and  millions 
in  days  gone  by  have  pleased  him.  To 
do  his  will  is  life  and  peace. 

II.  There  is  very  great  need  that  we 
should  please  God.  We  had  better  fail 
to  please  anybody  else,  than  fail  to 
please  God.  If  he  be  angry  with  us, 
all  the  world  may  smile  on  us,  but  it 
will  not  do  us  any  good.  If  he  be 
pleased  with  us,  all  the  world  may  be 
angry  with  us,  but  it  will  not  do  us  any 
real  harm.  God's  smile  is  life  and  joy 
and  peace  for  ever.  His  frown  is  death 
and  despair  for  ever.  Many  have  said 
they  would  try  to  please  God;  but  they 
did  not  know  their  own  hearts,  and  have 
turned  back  to  the  world,  and  lost  their 
souls.  Some  made  up  their  minds  to 
please  him,  cost  what  it  might,  and  have 
held  on  their  way,  and  now  they  are 
happy  in  heaven. 

III.  You  cannot  please  God  and  man 


ON    PLEASING    GOD.  95 

both.  "  The  friendship  of  the  world  is 
enmity  with  God :  whosoever,  therefore 
will  be  a  friend  of  the  world  is  the  enemy 
of  God."*  Wicked  men  do  not  love  to 
see  even  little  boys  and  girls  trying  to 
please  God.  "When  the  chief  priest 
and  scribes  saw  the  children  crying 
in  the  temple,  and  saying  Hosanna  to 
the  Son  of  David;  they  were  sore  dis- 
pleased."-}- I  have  seen  men  so  wicked 
that  they  would  teach  little  children  to 
swear,  and  fight,  and  break  the  Sabbath. 
The  reason  why  they  did  so,  was  that 
they  did  not  please  God  themselves,  and 
they  did  not  wish  to  see  others  trying 
to  please  him.  If  you  would  please  God, 
you  must  not  try  to  please  yourself. 
Christ  did  not  please  himself,  but  he 
pleased  his  Father,  who  sent  him.  If  you 
would  please  God,  you  must  be  like 
Christ.  Enoch  did  not  please  himself, 
nor  the  wicked  men  around  him. 

IV.  The  way  to  please  God  is  to  walk 
*  James  iv.  4.  t  Matt.  xxi.  15. 


96  SHORT    SERMONS. 

with  him,  and  not  to  walk  with  the 
wicked.  This  is  the  way  Enoch  pleased 
him.  The  Bible  says,  "  he  walked  with 
God."  With  whom  is  he  walking  who 
tells  lies,  who  loves  to  quarrel,  who  goes 
to  play  on  the  holy  Sabbath,  who  cheats, 
or  steals,  or  loves  bad  company  ?  Surely 
he  is  not  walking  with  God.  That  is 
not  the  way  Enoch  walked.  Those,  who 
do  such  things,  walk  with  the  devil.  Be- 
fore we  are  born  again,  none  of  us  walk 
with  God.  Our  wills  are  opposed  to  his 
will.  Our  views  are  opposite  to  his 
views.  Until  we  get  new  hearts,  we 
choose  what  he  hates. 

V.  The  way  to  walk  with  God  is  "  by 
faith."*  This  faith  believes  all  God's 
word  to  be  true.  It  does  not  doubt  any 
of  it.  It  takes  the  whole  of  it  as  the 
word  of  God.  It  looks  to  Jesus  as  the 
only  Saviour.  He,  who  has  true  faith, 
casts  himself  wholly  upon  Christ;  upon 
Christ's  blood  for  pardon,  and  upon 
*Heb.  v.  11. 


OX    PLEASING    GOD.  97 

Christ's  merits  for  acceptance  with  God, 
and  upon  Christ's  strength  to  help  him 
to  do  right.  To  him  Christ  is  all  and 
in  all.  To  come  to  Christ  and  to  look 
to  Christ  mean  the  same  thing  as  to 
have  faith  in  him.  Never  did  a  sinner 
perish,  who  had  fled  by  faith  to  Christ. 
He  is  the  only  friend  that  can  do  help- 
less sinners  good.  0  that  you  loved  him, 
and  would  put  your  trust  in  him  !  He 
-  would  do  you  good  as  long  as  you  live. 
Many  as  young  as  you,  and  as  wicked 
as  you,  have  gone  to  him,  and  found  him 
a  precious  Saviour. 

VI.  It  is  a  blessed  thing  to  please  God. 
Those,  who  walk  with  him,  walk  in  truth, 
and  the  truth  makes  them  free.  They 
walk  in  the  law  of  the  Lord,  and  it  is 
perfect.  They  walk  in  love,  and  "  God 
is  love.''  They  have  a  promise  that  he 
will  keep  them.  "  When  a  man's  ways 
please  the  Lord,  he  maketh  even  his 
enemies  to  be  at  peace  with  him."    Such 

an  one  shall  not  be  afraid  of  evil  tidings, 
9 


98  SHORT    SERMONS. 

nor  shall  he  perish.  In  himself  he  is 
weak,  but  God  is  his  strength.  God  will 
build  walls  of  fire  round  about  him,  so 
that  the  wicked  cannot  get  at  him. 
Yea,  God  will  lift  up  his  head  above  all 
his  enemies  round  about.  Satan  may 
rage,  and  the  world  may  be  in  arms,  but 
God  will  keep  him  in  perfect  peace. 
One,  who  thus  walks  with  him,  has 
peace  with  God  through  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.  He  also  has  sweet  peace  of  con- 
science. Nor  is  his  heart  at  war  with 
any  man.  I  once  asked  a  poor  Cherokee 
Indian,  how  he  felt  towards  his  enemies, 
when  he  was  converted  ?  He  said,  "  I 
loved  everybody,  and  felt  as  if  I  had  no 
enemies."  Every  man,  who  pleases  God, 
finds  this  to  be  a  good  way  to  live  and 
act. 

"  The  day  moves  swiftly  o'er  his  head 
Made  up  of  innocence  and  love." 

"  Enoch  walked  with  God  and  was  not; 
for  God  took  him."  That  is,  Enoch  went 
to  heaven  without  dying.     I  dare  not 


ON    PLEASING    GOD.  99 

say  that  you  will  not  die,  even  if  you  do 
please  God.  But  I  dare  say  that  God  will 
be  with  you  when  you  die,  if  you  are  one 
of  his.     And 

"  Jesus  can  make  a  dying  bed 
Feel  soft  as  downy  pillows  are.' 

Many  little  children  have  found  this 
true.  Each  of  you  will  find  it  true,  if 
you  will  but  walk  with  God. 

LET    US    PRAY. 

0  Lord  God  of  Enoch  and  of  Elijah, 
be  thou  our  God.  We  greatly  need  thy 
grace.  Without  it  we  never  can  be 
saved.  Thou  hast  said,  "  a  new  heart 
will  I  give  you,  and  a  new  spirit  will  I 
put  within  you :  and  I  will  take  away 
the  stony  heart  out  of  your  flesh ;  and  I 
will  give  you  an  heart  of  flesh ;  And  I 
will  put  my  Spirit  within  you,  and  cause 
you  to  walk  in  my  statutes,  and  ye  shall 
keep  my  judgments,  and  do  them." 
Lord,  these  are  the  very  blessings  we 
need.    0  grant  all  of  them  to  every  one 


100 


SHORT    SERMONS. 


of  us.  Thou  hast  also  said,  "not  for 
your  sakes,"  do  I  this ;  and  that  makes 
us  hope  that  thou  wilt  do  it  for  us  *  We 
ask  all,  yes  all,  not  for  our  sakes,  but 
alone  for  the  sake  of  Jesus  Christ.  Amen 
*  Ezek.  xxxvi.  26. 


SERMON  XIII. 

©u  fjonestg. 

In  all  things  willing  to  live  honestly. — Heb. 
xiii.  18. 

To  live  honestly  is  to  live  justly,  and 
above  reproach.  It  is  to  live  so  that  no 
man,  who  knows  how  we  live,  can  truly 
say  any  harm  of  us.  Nothing  is  honest, 
which  is  against  justice  or  honour. 

One  may  be  able  to  keep  out  of  jail, 
and  yet  not  "live  honestly."  All  steal- 
ing is  dishonest.  It  may  be  but  a  pin, 
or  a  marble,  or  an  apple,  that  we  steal, 
but,  if  we  take  it  slyly  it  is  stealing.  It 
is  wicked  to  steal  from  a  brother,  or 
sister,  or  parent.    We  may  not  steal  any 

thing  even  if  we  need  it.     The  eighth 
9*  101 


102  SHORT    SERMONS. 

commandment  is,  "Thou  shalt  not 
steal."* 

We  do  not  live  honestly,  if  we  beg 
when  we  can  help  it.  It  is  a  shame, 
when  we  can  help  it.  He  is  both  mean 
and  unjust,  who  begs,  when  he  might 
help  himself.  We  ought  to  bear  a  great 
deal  rather  than  beg.  If  we  must  beg, 
we  should  be  very  careful  not  to  lie  also, 
as  some  beggars  do.  Paul  says,  "We 
beseech  you,  brethren,  ....  to  do  your 
own  business,  and  to  work  with  your 
own  hands,  as  we  commanded  you ;  that 
ye  may  walk  honestly  toward  them  that 
are  without,  and  that  ye  may  have  lack 
of  nothing."  f 

We  may  also  be  dishonest  in  borrow- 
ing: first,  when  we  do  not  need  what 
we  borrow,  and  then  when  we  keep  it 
longer  than  we  need  it,  or  do  not  take 
good  care  of  it,  and  send  it  home.  There 
is  a  fine  story  told  of  a  poor  young  man 
in  2  Kings  vi.  1 — 7.     It  is  this :  "And 

*  Ex.  xx.  15.  t  1  Thess.  iv.  10—12. 


ON    HONESTY. 


103 


the  sons  of  the  prophets  said  unto  Elisha, 
Behold  now,  the  place  where  we  dwell 
with  thee  is  too  strait  for  us.  Let  us 
go,  we  pray  thee,  unto  Jordan,  and  take 
thence  every  man  a  beam,  and  let  us 
make  us  a  place  there,  where  we  may 
dwell.  And  he  answered,  Go  ye.  And 
one  said,  Be  content,  I  pray  thee,  and 
go  with  thy  servants.  And  he  answered, 
I  will  go.  So  he  went  with  them. 
And  when  they  came  to  Jordan,  they 
cut  down  wood.  But  as  one  was  felling 
a  beam,  the  axe-head  fell  into  the  water: 
and  he  cried,  and  said,  Alas,  master !  for 
it  was  borrowed.  And  the  man  of  God 
said,  Where  fell  it?  And  he  showed 
him  the  place.  And  he  cut  down  a 
stick,  and  cast  it  in  thither;  and  the 
iron  did  swim.  Therefore,  said  he, 
Take  it  up  to  thee.  And  he  put  out  his 
hand  and  took  it."  I  like  this  story 
very  much.  That  must  have  been  a 
good  young  man.  If  he  had  not  been, 
he  would  not  have  said,  "  Alas !  master. 


104  SHORT   SERMONS. 

for  it  was  borrowed ;"  but  he  would  have 
said,  "  Well,  I  don't  care,  for  it  was  bor- 
rowed." It  was  very  kind  in  the  good 
old  prophet  to  get  the  axe  back  for  the 
young  man.  Borrow  not  without  neces- 
sity. If  you  borrow  any  thing,  take 
good  care  of  it,  and  send  it  home  as  soon 
as  you  have  done  with  it.  In  all  things 
live  honestly. 

Some  are  not  honest  in  buying  and 
selling.  Their  rule  is  to  buy  at  all 
times  as  cheap  as  they  can,  and  sell  as 
dear  as  they  can.  This  is  a  wicked 
rule.  We  often  trade  with  those  who 
do  not  know  the  worth  of  the  thing 
bought  or  sold.  It  is  cheating  them,  to 
make  the  best  bargain  we  can.  Some 
times  we  trade  with  those  who  are  in 
great  want,  and  we  fix  our  own  prices, 
and  make  them  much  too  high,  if  we 
sell,  or  too  low,  if  we  buy.  Nor  may 
you  make  the  best  bargain  you  can, 
when  you  use  words  that  are  not  strictly 
true.     "It  is  naught,  it  is  naught,  saith 


ON    HONESTY.  105 

the  buyer ;  but  when  he  is  gone  his  way 
then  he  boasteth."  *  There  is  a  fair 
price  for  every  thing.  Let  that  be  paid 
or  taken  for  every  thing.  He  who  is 
just  and  true,  and  loves  his  neighbour  as 
himself,  will  soon  find  out  what  a  fair 
price  is.  Almost  all  men  use  too  many 
words  in  buying  and  selling ;  and  when 
too  many  words  are  used,  there  is  almost 
always  a  lie  somewhere. 

If  we  would  live  honestly,  we  must  be 
very  careful  not  to  run  in  debt,  when  we 
see  no  sure  way  of  paying.  "  Owe  no 
man  any  thing,  but  to  love  one  another."f 
We  ought  not  only  to  pay  our  debts,  but 
to  pay  them  at  the  time  fixed.  The  law 
of  Moses  made  it  a  duty  to  pay  every 
man  his  hire  to  a  day,  and  not  to  let  the 
sun  go  down  upon  it.J  That  was  a 
good  law.  Pay  your  debts  to  a  day. 
There  is  no  better  use  of  money  than  to 
pay  debts  with  it. 

It  is  a  bad  thing  for  children  to  get 
*  Prov.  xx.  14.  t  Rom.  xiii.  8.   $  Deut.  xxiv.  14, 15. 


106  SHORT    SERMONS. 

into  the  habit  of  exchanging  or  trading 
away  their  things.  It  makes  them  do 
wrong  in  many  ways.  It  is  also  very  bad 
for  them  to  bet.  I  cannot  now  tell  all  the 
reasons.  When  you  are  older,  you  may 
learn  them.  We  ought  to  be  honest  to  the 
old  and  to  the  young,  to  the  rich  and  to 
the  poor,  to  God  and  to  man.  "  Render 
unto  God  the  things  that  are  God's/'  said 
Christ.  Give  him  all  the  praise,  and 
honor  and  service,  which  are  his  due. 

Some  are  not  honest  in  paying  what 
is  due  to  the  government  of  the  land. 
This  is  very  wicked.  Jesus  Christ  said, 
"Render  unto  Csesar  the  things  that  are 
Caesar's."  And  when  they  called  for  a 
tax,  and  Christ  had  no  money,  he  sent 
Peter  to  catch  a  fish,  in  whose  mouth 
he  found  the  money,  and  paid  the  tribute 
both  for  himself  and  his  master.  We 
ought  all  to  be  willing  to  pay  our  taxes. 
Although  little  boys  and  girls  do  not 
pay  taxes,  they  should  love  to  see  it 
done  by  all  who  owe  taxes.    It  is  very 


ON    HONESTY.  107 

wicked  to  wish  to  cheat  the  government. 
We  should  soon  all  be  in  a  very  bad 
way,  if  we  had  no  rulers  to  keep  order 
and  enforce  the  laws.  Government  is 
of  God. 

We  must  take  our  rules  of  justice  and 
honour  from  the  Bible.  It  is  not  right  for 
us  to  do  a  thing,  merely  because  others 
do  it.  Many  men  do  very  sinfully. 
If  we  follow  them  in  sin,  we  shall  be 
guilty  before  God.  Nor  is  it  enough  for 
us  to  do  what  is  honest  in  the  sight  of 
God  alone.  We  must  "  provide  things 
honest  in  the  sight  of  all  men."*  We 
must  not  only  do  right,  but  we  must 
seem  to  do  right.  We  must  not  let  our 
good  be  evil  spoken  off  If  you  ever 
think  you  have  made  a  bad  bargain, 
still  stick  to  it  though  to  your  hurt. 

I  feel  bound  to  say,  that  even  if  we 
snow  justice  and  honour  in  all  we  do  to 
men,  we  cannot  be  saved,  unless  we  have 
?ove  to  God  and  faith  in  Christ.  He 
*  Rom.  xii.  17.  t  See  also  2  Cor.  viii.  21 ;  Ps.  xv.  4 


108  SHORT   SERMONS. 

who  would  go  to  heaven  by  his  honesty, 
and  not  by  the  merits  of  Christ,  "  is  a 
thief  and  a  robber."  *  To  try  to  go  to 
heaven  in  any  other  way  than  by  Christ, 
shows  that  we  wish  to  rob  him  of  the 
honour  of  saving  us.  If  we  would  please 
God,  we  must  give  our  hearts  to  Christ 
as  our  Saviour. 

PRATER. 

0  lord,  hold  us  up,  and  we  shall  be 
safe.  Our  hearts  are  wicked,  and  we 
will  be  sure  to  do  very  wrong,  unless 
thou  keep  us.  Let  us  not  be  poor  and 
steal;  let  us  never  lie  nor  cheat.  Teach 
us  to  speak  the  truth  in  all  things,  and 
at  all  times.  Let  us  never  set  any 
wicked  thing  before  us.  Grant  us  grace 
to  "  render  unto  Caesar  the  things  that 
are  Caesar's,  and  to  God  the  things  that 
are  God's."  In  all  things  may  we  live 
honestly.  We  ask  all  in  the  name  of 
Christ  alone.    Amen. 

*  John  x.  L 


SERMON  XIV. 

Xom  is  il)e  (Eime. 
Behold,  now  is  the  accepted  time. — 2  Cor.  vi.  2. 

An  "  accepted  time/'  is  a  good  time,  a 
fit  time,  a  time  in  which  it  would  please 
God  for  us  to  do  a  given  work.  Now  is 
the  right  time  to  make  our  peace  with 
God,  to  repent  of  sin,  to  believe  in  Jesus, 
and  to  prepare  for  death,  judgment,  and 
eternity.     I  shall  prove  this. 

I.  All  things  are  ready.  The  Bible 
is  all  written,  and  sent  abroad.  Minis- 
ters are  sent  by  God  to  offer  us  salvation. 
Christ  has  died,  and  risen,  and  gone  up 
to  heaven  and  is  waiting  for  us  to  give 
him  our  hearts.  God  has  told  us  his 
whole  will  concerning  us.     He  has  sent 

us  good  teachers  and  good  books.     He 
10  109 


110  SHORT    SERMONS. 

will  not  again  send  his  son  to  preach  to 
us,  or  to  die  for  us.  The  door  of  mercy 
is  now  wide  open.  All,  who  now  come 
to  Christ  are  saved  by  him.  The  way  is 
as  plainly  pointed  out  as  it  ever  will  be. 
Why  should  you  longer  live  in  sin  ?  The 
terms  of  salvation  will  never  change. 
There  will  never  be  a  better  time  than 
the  present.  Your  own  wicked  heart, 
wicked  people,  and  Satan,  may  oppose 
you ;  but  if  you  yield  to  them  now,  they 
will  oppose  you  more  by-and-by.  When 
I  was  a  boy,  I  read  of  a  fool  on  a  jour- 
ney. He  came  to  a  river,  and  there  he 
sat  down  Some  one  found  him,  and 
asked  him  what  he  was  doing.  He  said 
he  was  waiting  till  all  the  water  ran  by. 
You  say  "  truly  he  was  a  fool."  But 
when  you  sit  down,  and  refuse  to  go  to 
Christ  until  there  is  less  to  hinder  you, 
you  act  just  like  that  fool.  You  will 
gain  nothing  and  may  lose  all  by  de- 
lay. 

II.  It  is  a  very  painful  thing  to  live 


NOW    IS    THE    TIME.  Ill 

in  doubt  about  any  great  matter.  It  is 
very  much  so  in  regard  to  religion.  God 
says,  "My  son,  give  me  thy  heart." 
Your  conscience  says  you  ought  to  do  it. 
But  your  wicked  heart  says,  I  will  not 
do  it  now,  I  will  put  it  off  a  while.  God 
says,  "  except  ye  repent  ye  shall  all  like- 
wise perish. "  You  know  you  ought  to 
repent,  and  as  long  as  you  will  not,  you 
must  feel  guilty.  When  you  think  of 
dying,  you  are  very  much  afraid.  When 
you  are  serious  or  sad,  a  sense  of  guilt 
makes  you  very  unhappy.  "  There  is 
no  peace,  saith  my  God,  to  the  wicked." 
He  who  lives  in  sin  must  live  in  dread 
of  meeting  God  in  anger.  0  come  now 
to  Christ,  give  him  your  heart,  sinful  as 
it  is.  Make  him  your  refuge  and  your 
hiding-place.  He  is  the  Lamb  of  God, 
that  taketh  away  the  sins  of  the 
world.  Believe  in  him,  and  this  war 
between  your  conscience  and  your  wicked 
heart  will  be  at  an  end.     Then  "the 


112  SHORT    SERMONS. 

peace  of  God  shall  rule  in  your  heart  by 
Jesus  Christ." 

III.  It  is  very  wicked  to  put  off  re- 
pentance, for  "God  now  commands  all 
men  everywhere  to  repent."  It  is  true 
you  are  young.  But  if  you  are  old  enough 
to  sin  against  God,  you  are  old  enough 
to  repent  of  that  sin.  If  you  are  old 
enough  to  hate  God,  you  are  old  enough 
to  love  him,  and  you  ought  to  do  it. 
You  ought  not  merely  to  think  of  doing 
it,  nor  merely  to  intend  to  do  it.  You 
ought  to  do  it.  "Thou  shalt  love  the 
Lord  thy  God,  with  all  thy  heart,  and 
with  all  thy  soul,  and  with  all  thy  mind ; 
this  is  the  first  and  great  command- 
ment."* It  is  not  only  a  command  of 
God,  but  it  is  a  good  command.  Not  to 
obey  it  is  very  wicked.  It  is  as  truly 
wicked  in  a  little  boy  or  little  girl  not  to 
love  God,  as  it  is  for  old  people. 

IV.  It  is  very  dangerous  for  you  to 
put  off  repentance.     You  may  die,  and 

*  Matt.  xxii.  37,  38. 


NOW    IS    THE    TIME.  113 

if  you  die  in  your  sins,  you  will  be  lost 
for  ever.  Many,  younger  than  you,  have 
died,  and  are  constantly  dying.  But  if 
you  should  not  die.  but  live  to  grow 
up,  your  heart  will  be  harder,  and  your 
sins  will  be  stronger  than  they  are  now. 
The  force  of  bad  habits  will  be  far  greater 
when  you  shall  be  twenty  or  thirty  years 
old.  You  now  feel  at  times  "  almost  per- 
suaded to  be  a  Christian."  Your  heart  is 
very  much  softened  at  times.  If  you  do 
not  now  turn  to  God  your  heart  will  grow 
harder,  and  harder,  and  harder  every  day. 
God  says,  "if  you  will  hear  his  voice, 
harden  not  your  hearts."*  : 

V.  If  you  resist  God's  love,  and  refuse 
his  mercy  a  little  longer,  you  will  be 
eternally  undone.  Men  often  lose  their 
best  things  simply  by  delay.  They  wish 
and  intend  to  do  something,  but  they  put 
off  doing  it  until  it  is  too  late.  When 
Hannibal  could  have  taken  Eome,  he 
would  not,  and  when  he  would  have  taken 

*  Heb.  iv.  7. 
10* 


114  SHORT    SERMONS. 

Rome  lie  could  not.  So  when  many 
can  come  to  Christ,  they  will  not,  and 
put  it  off  until  it  is  too  late.  He  that 
sleeps  in  harvest  shall  starve  in  winter. 
The  present  time  is  every  one's  harvest 
for  his  soul.  You  cannot  be  too  careful 
to  work  out  your  salvation  with  fear  and 
trembling.  You  must  watch  and  pray. 
You  must  fight  the  good  fight  of  faith. 
You  must  flee  for  refuge  to  Jesus  Christ. 
You  must  hate  all  sin.  You  must  love 
what  God  loves.  And  you  must  do  all 
this  now,  in  this  life,  or  you  must  be  un- 
done for  ever.  This  life  may  close  in  a> 
day,  or  an  hour.  The  very  wood  out  of 
which  your  coffin  is  to  be  made,  may 
now  be  in  a  shop  close  by  you.  If  you 
die  without  pardon  and  grace,  you  will 
for  ever  utter  the  bitter  cry :  "  The  har- 
vest is  past,  the  summer  is  ended,  and 
we  are  not  saved."*  May  God  in  infi- 
nite mercy  save  you  from  an  end  so 
terrible. 

*  Jer.  viii.  20. 


NOW    IS    THE    TIME.  115 

PRAYER. 

0  Lord,  thou  openest  thy  hand,  and 
suppliest  the  wants  of  every  living  thing. 
Thou  hast  fed,  and  kept  us  all  our  days. 
Thou  hast  a  right  to  our  time  and  to 
our  hearts.  But  we  have  sinned  against 
thee.  Still  thou  art  gracious,  and  art 
able  to  save  even  us.  Help  us  to  feel 
that  now  is  our  time.  Let  us  not  live 
another  day  in  sin.  In  mercy,  0  Lord, 
give  us  new  hearts.  Let  us  not  put  off 
the  great  work  of  life  for  another  hour. 
We  ask  all  for  the  sake  of  Jesus  Christ. 

Amen. 


SERMON  XV. 

®f)e  Cast  Jtobgment* 
And  the  looks  were  opened. — Rev.  xx   12. 

There  is  much  said  in  the  Scriptures 
about  books.  Solomon  says,  "  of  making 
many  books  there  is  no  end."*  In  one 
place  we  read  of  a  great  revival  of  reli- 
gion, when  "  many  of  them,  which  used 
curious  arts,  brought  their  books  together, 
and  burned  them  before  all  men;  and 
they  counted  the  price  of  them,  and 
found  it  fifty  thousand  pieces  of  silver."f 
These  books  treated  of  magic,  &c.  Some 
books  are  so  bad  that  they  ought  to  be 
burned,  lest  they  may  do  harm.  Some 
books  are  good,  and  ought  to  be  read.  Some 
*Ecc.  xii.  12.  tActs  xix.  19. 

116 


THE    LAST    JUDGMENT.  117 

are  so  good  that  they  ought  to  be 
studied.  Daniel  studied  books,  ch.  ix.  2. 
Paul  was  careful  of  his  books.*  He  said 
to  Timothy,  "  give  thyself  to  reading."-)- 
The  word  Bible  is  a  Greek  word,  and 
means  book.  We  call  the  word  of  God 
The  Bible,  because  we  mean  to  say 
that  it  is  The  Book,  that  is,  that  it  is 
the  very  best  of  books,  the  book  of  God. 
The  text,  speaking  of  the  last  day,  says, 
"  the  books  shall  be  opened."J  God  will 
open  them  to  show  to  all  men  what  is 
written  in  them,  to  prove  that  he  has 
done  right.  But  what  books  shall  be 
opened  ? 

I.   The  book  of  conscience   shall  be 
opened  at  that  day.     The  work  of  the 

*2Tim.  iv.  13.  tl  Tim.  iv.  13. 

Jit  is  not  to  be  understood  that  there  will  be 
any  real  books  used  at  the  judgment  day.  The 
great  God  needs  no  record  to  enable  him  to  remem- 
ber our  actions,  but  as  men  are  obliged  to  make 
and  use  such  records  in  this  world,  God  is  spoken 
of  as  doing  the  same  thing. 


118  SHORT    SERMONS. 

Mw  "is  written  in  the  hearts  of  men," 
"  their  consciences  also  bearing  witness, 
and  their  thoughts  the  meanwhile  accus- 
ing or  else  excusing  one  another."*  In 
this  life  we  often  refuse  to  read  the  book 
of  conscience,  but  God  will  make  us  read 
it  at  the  last  day.  Many  years  after 
Joseph's  brethren  had  sold  him  into 
bondage  they  were  in  trouble,  and  then 
they  read  in  the  book  of  conscience  these 
words,  "  we  are  verily  guilty  concerning 
our  brother."  So  at  the  last  day  God 
will  open  the  book  of  every  man's  con- 
science, and  make  him  see  what  is  in  it. 
We  may  shut  our  eyes  now ;  we  may  re- 
fuse to  obey  our  consciences,  or  listen  to 
their  voice ;  but  we  will  not  be  able  to 
do  so  any  longer,  when  God  shall  say, 
"  Awake  ye  dead  and  come  to  judgment." 
II.  God  will  open  the  book  of  Holy 
Scripture.  Jesus  Christ  says,  "  he  that 
rejecteth  me  and  receiveth  not  my  word, 
*Rom.  ii.  15. 


THE    LAST    JUDGMENT.  119 

hath  one  that  judge th  him :  the  worcf, 
that  I  have  spoken,  it  shall  judge  him 
in  the  last  day."*  Some  persons  will 
not  read  the  Bible  now.  Some  are  so 
wicked  that  they  will  not  let  others  read 
it.  Many,  who  do  read  it,  make  a  jest 
of  it,  laugh  at  its  most  solemn  truths,  and 
never  obey  it.  Some  pretend  to  obey 
the  parts  which,  they  like,  but  they  do 
not  even  try  to  obey  all.  Some  love  the 
whole  Bible.  Every  thing  in  it  is  in 
their  view  good.  All  these  persons  shall 
be  judged  by  the  Bible.  The  great 
"  flying  roll"  of  God's  law  will  hang 
down  from  the  judgment-seat,  and  on  it 
will  be  written,  "  The  soul  that  sinneth 
it  shall  die."  u  Cursed  is  every  one  that 
continueth  not  in  all  things  that  are 
written  in  the  book  of  the  law  to  do 
them."  The  Gospel  will  also  be  opened, 
and  in  it  will  be  found  these  words,  "  If 
any  man  love  not  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
*John  xii.  48. 


120  SHORT    SERMONS. 

let  him  be  Anathema  Maranatha,"  which 
means,  let  him  be  accursed,  when  the 
Lord  cometh.  Those,  who  will  not 
judge  themselves  by  the  Bible  here, 
shall  be  judged  by  it  there. 

III.  God  will  also  then  open  the 
"Book  of  Remembrance."*  In  it  will 
be  found  a  record  of  the  name  of  every 
man,  woman,  and  child  that  shall  have 
been  on  the  earth.  It  will  also  give  a 
true  and  full  account  of  all  that  every 
one  has  ever  felt,  or  thought,  or  said,  or 
done:  God  never  forgets  any  thing  good 
or  bad  done  by  anybody.  He  writes  it 
all  in  his  book  of  remembrance.  Secret 
sins  and  secret  acts  of  piety,  open  sins 
and  open  acts  of  piety,  will  all  be  found 
written  in  that  book.  When  John 
Quincy  Adams,  who  was  once  President 
of  the  United  States,  died,  in  the  year 
1848,  it  was  said  that  he  had  left  seventy 
pretty  large  volumes,  written  by  him- 
*  See  Mai.  iii.  16. 


THE    LAST    JUDGMENT.  121 

self,  and  giving  an  account  of  what  he 
had  seen,  and  said,  and  heard,  and  done, 
since  he  was  a  young  man.  The  book 
of  remembrance  must  be  very  large,  to 
contain  an  account  of  all  that  was  ever 
thought,  and  said,  and  done  by  all  human 
beings,  that  ever  lived.  None  but  God 
could  keep  such  a  book.  None  but  God 
will  be  able  to  open  it.  Both  saints 
and  sinners  will  be  very  much  surprised 
when  they  shall  see  all  that  is  written 
in  it  * 

IV.  But  God  has  another  book.  It 
is  "the  book  of  life."f  Every  one's 
name  is  in  the  book  of  remembrance ; 
but  every  one's  name  is  not  in  the  book 
of  life.  This  book  is  called,  "  The  book 
of  life  of  the  Lamb,  slain  from  the 
foundation  of  the  world."  There  will 
be  more  sorrow  among  the  wicked,  and 

*  See  Matt.  xxv.  31—46. 

t  Phil.  iv.  3 ;  Rev.  iii.  5,  xiii.  8,  xvii.  8,  xx,  12. 
15,  xxi.  27,  xxii.  19. 

11 


122  SHORT    SERMONS. 

more  joy  among  the  righteous  at  the 
opening  of  the  book  of  life,  than  of  all 
the  other  books.  It  will  contain  the 
names  of  all  those,  and  of  only  those 
"who  have  washed  their  robes  and 
made  them  white  in  the  blood  of  the 
Lamb."  In  this  world,  men  are  often 
very  anxious  to  have  their  names  writ- 
ten in  books  of  history,  but  I  would 
rather  have  my  name  in  the  book  of 
life,  than  in  all  other  books  beside.  For 
whosoever  shall  not  be  found  written 
in  the  book  of  life  shall  be  cast  into  the 
lake  of  fire.*  To  all  those  whose  names 
shall  be  found  in  this  book,  the  judge 
will  grant  eternal  life. 

PRAYER. 

0  Lord  God  Almighty,  thou  art  our 

Maker,  and   thou  wilt  be   our   Judge. 

Grant  that  we  may  obtain  mercy  of  the 

Lord  in  that  great  day,  when  thou  wilt 

*  See  Rev,  xx.  15. 


THE    LAST    JUDGMENT.  lZd 

judge  the  secrets  of  men  by  Jesus  Christ. 
In  that  day,  may  we  be  found  in  Christ, 
and  our  names  appear  in  his  book  of 
life.  We  do  not  ask  to  be  great,  or  rich, 
or  to  have  the  praise  of  men,  but  we  do 
ask  that  our  poor  sinful  souls  may  be 
saved.  We  ask  all  for  the  sake  of  Jesus 
Christ.    Amen. 


Date  Due 

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